Keep Santa Fe Beautiful (KSFB), the City of Santa Fe Environmental Services Division, and the City of Santa Fe Parks and Open Space Division invite community members to attend a ribbon cutting and dedication for KSFB’s new pollinator garden and bee sculpture in Calle Alvarado Park beginning at 1 p.m., Friday, August 26. Members of the KSFB Board of Directors and bee sculpture artist John Knox will also be in attendance.  

Along with the garden and sculpture dedication, attendees will have a chance to view a handmade bee hotel built by KSFB board member Rick Martinez. Students from the MASTERS Program Early College Charter High School will put the finishing touches on the hotel as part of the event. The MASTERS Program students also prepared the park grounds and helped with painting the park in advance of the dedication. Light refreshments will be served. 

"Bees play an important role in ecosystems. We can all do our part to help save bees by planting pollinator plants in our gardens, porches, and windowsills,” said KSFB Executive Director and Environmental Services Program Manager Carol Branch. “We are proud to be a part of this endeavor working with our partners who understand the importance of keeping Santa Fe clean, green, and beautiful.” 

The pollinator garden and bee sculpture are a collaboration of the City of Santa Fe, KSFB, New Mexico Tourism Department's Clean and Beautiful Grant program, Bell Bank of Santa Fe, Cassidy's Landscaping, and the Xerces Society. 

The bee sculpture and pollinator garden also support the commitments required by the City of Santa Fe’s recent designation as a Bee City USA®. An initiative of the Xerces Society, Bee City USA® brings communities together to protect pollinators by increasing the abundance of native plants, providing nest sites, and reducing the use of pesticides. 

Keep Santa Fe Beautiful is a 501(c) 3 non-profit that partners with the City of Santa Fe’s Environmental Services Division on environmental education, litter prevention, beautification projects, and more. 

Contact: Carol Branch, KSFB Executive Director and Environmental Services Program Manager, 505-955-2215