Green homes
Home, garden show continues at Gurley Hall Saturday

Coye Balok of Holiday Nursery talks with Marcella Pirlot on Friday at the Green Gallup Home and Garden Show at University of New Mexico-Gallup campus. The show continues through today with information booths and presentations. — © 2009 Gallup Independent / Brian Leddy

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Staff writer

GALLUP — Going green is getting easier in Gallup.This weekend’s Green Gallup Home and Garden Show features 18 local businesses, programs, and nonprofit organizations that are offering area residents tips on ways they can improve their homes and lives while using natural resources in a more energy efficient manner.

Green Gallup Home and Garden Show, which began on Friday, will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday in Gurley Hall at UNM-Gallup. In addition to the many information booths, Saturday’s event will include four seminars or tours that explore the following topics.

• 10 a.m.: Richard Krouth, a UNM-Gallup construction technology instructor, will present a seminar on passive solar and rammed earth block construction.

• noon: Coye Balok of Holiday Nursery will give a presentation about rainwater harvesting and drip irrigation.

• 1 to 3 p.m.: Tours of Green Wellness Cottage, 1825 Milda Ave. Visitors are welcome to drive to the cottage or catch a shuttle ride from Gurley Hall. The cottage, which is owned by Four Directions Wellness Resources, was built by Chris Chavez, a UNM-Gallup construction technology instructor.

• 2:30 p.m.: Chris Chavez will discuss the benefits of building with structural insulated panels.

Barbara Kozeliski of PolySteel Forms of Gallup said many area residents are surprised to learn that Gallup has a local insulating concrete forms business. In addition to contractors who use the forms in their building projects, Kozeliski said a growing number of community members are learning about the advantage of building with ICFs.

“It reduces the heating and cooling costs tremendously,” Kozeliski said of the concrete filled, insulated building system. During the home show, Kozeliski has a number of the forms on display for people to see how the system is designed.

Chris Chavez and his wife, Keegan Mackenzie-Chavez, owners of Shelter + Design, are showing a number of recycled materials they can incorporate into their designs.

Some of the materials include insulation made of recycled denim that has a better insulation value than fiberglass, contemporary recycled glass tiles, slate-looking shingles made from old tires, and sunflower seed fiberboard. Some of the recycled products are more expensive than conventional building materials, Chavez said, but some are cost comparable.

A couple of local businesses have tables that focus on low-water and low-maintenance landscape designs.

“I do design as well as (landscape) coaching,” said Barbara E. Russell, owner of When the Rains Come. Russell said she uses lots of native plants and water efficient plants in her landscape designs. For her coaching services, Russell will visit a property and make planting and maintenance suggestions.

Coye Balok of Holiday Nursery said his business is also moving toward selling more xeric, and low-water use plants.

Balok, who has a table at the show full of water-efficient plants, said people can have low-water use plants that still have lots of color, fragrance, and texture.

Two such plants that Balok has on display, the hyssop and desert penstemon, have flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

Green Horizon is a Ramah business that specializes in energy conservation products and solar energy systems.

Jason Jones, owner of Green Horizon, recently installed solar panels at St. Mary’s Parish in Tohatchi. Jones’ wife, Shannon Lambson, said prices for sustainable solar have come down in recent years, there are more tax incentives now for people installing the systems, and most solar panels have lifetime warranties.

“The average is they pay for themselves in eight years,” Lambson said. In addition to his work with solar energy systems, Lambson said Jones inspects homes for energy usage and provides energy conservation plans.

Other presenters featured at the Green Gallup Home and Garden Show include Four Directions Wellness Resources, Gallup Lumber and Supply Company, Gallup Small Business Development Center, Habitat for Humanity of Gallup, Humane Society of Gallup, Krouth Construction, Otero’s Cellular and Alarm Company, Project Green Build, Reliv-Nourishing Our World, Sandoval Woodworks, UNM-G Digital Design and Media Program, and UNM-G Cosmetology Program.