UC Riverside Palm Desert Campus Welcomes Desert Compost!

It was a HOT August 2021 morning when members from the Desert Compost Coalition met with staff at the UC Riverside Palm Desert campus. We toured the grounds with UCR Executive Director Tamara Hedges, research ecologist Dr. Cameron Barrows, exec. asst. Amy O'Neill, and Mike Bonetti the facilities manager. They shared their impressive plans for turf removal and the installation of a pollinator garden, orchard, and food garden. The existing grounds are gorgeous, and what they have already created is inspiring. The campus has a native plant garden and oasis, complete with a healthy Pup Fish population. Pup fish are on the endangered species list, so it was a delight to see so many of them swimming in the pond. The proposed compost site location is adjacent to the oasis and boasts a stunning view of the San Jacinto mountains. Desert Compost is thrilled to establish their first community composting site here! Stay tuned to learn more about our design process, as we will be exploring the use of earthbags to construct the half-wall around the site. The site location is large enough for us to process 1,000 lbs of food scraps and green material per/week!