2016 Press
Solana Center to Provide Environmental Education at Del Mar Fairgrounds
The Del Mar Fairgrounds Board of Directors approved a partnership with Solana Center for Environmental Innovation to provide environmental education programming at the historic facility. The partnership will expose new audiences to the importance of ecological sustainability and creating healthy communities. Consistent environmental programming at the Del Mar Fairgrounds demonstrates the 22nd District Agricultural Association’s…
Read MoreComposting Provides Benefits and Solutions for Local Growers
San Diego County is home to more small farms (less than 10 acres) than any other county in the U.S. and an ever growing number of community gardens, both of which often produce much more organic material than typical residences. Composting offers solutions for managing large amounts of organic matter and recycles the minerals and…
Read MoreSolana Center Receives State’s Highest Environmental Honor – Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA)
Solana Center for Environmental Innovation, based in the San Diego region, stood among other prominent organizations to accept the Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (GEELA) on Tuesday, January 19, 2016. Executive Director, Jessica Toth attended the award ceremony held at the California Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Sacramento. Solana Center received the award for…
Read MoreSan Diego Botanic Garden Gala in the Garden Achieves Zero Waste with Solana Center Partnership
The San Diego Botanic Garden and Solana Center for Environmental Innovation teamed up to make San Diego Botanic Garden’s Gala in the Garden event on September 12, 2015 from 5-9:30 pm a truly zero waste event! Now in its 16th year, the Gala in the Garden has a rich history in the community and is…
Read MoreTroubleshooting Your Backyard Compost Bin – Common Questions
Compost is a very forgiving process. There are many “roads to Rome,” and no two compost piles are alike. But sometimes things don’t seem to be going exactly how you want them to. Here are some common compost concerns and how to handle them. Every composter begins with their own unique blend of compostable materials…
Read MoreFrom the Rotline: How do I prevent swarms of flies in my bin?
While there is nothing wrong with having flies in a bin (and in fact, I implore you to find a bin without a resident fly population) they are often cited as a nuisance by backyard composters. Flies do enrich the bin ecosystem; having a variety of decomposers allows for material to be broken down more…
Read MoreThe Food Waste Hierarchy and Why Compost Matters
By Jami Wong, Marketing and Communications Manager If you’ve spent any time visiting the Solana Center lately, you may have heard us talking about the EPA’s Food Recovery Hierarchy. As municipal landfills start to fill up with food waste, this inverted pyramid has become an increasingly important tool to educate our community on the steps we…
Read MoreRed Wiggler Worm Reproduction
As composters, we definitely love our worms. And if you have a healthy vermicompost bin, then you definitely know there’s lots of love between the worms, too. But how exactly do our worm bins become so populous? Red wiggler worms are frequent reproducers. If conditions in the bin are ideal, each worm can produce up…
Read MoreCocoa Oh No
I’ve been at the Solana Center for some time now, and the staff here really seem to love coconut coir! They are always recommending it as an ingredient in potting and seed starting mixes and as bedding for vermicompost bins. Coconut coir is a highly useful and sustainable product, but sometimes humans ask a scary…
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