Even in Kyoto

We have been developing a rather long list of fun and interesting destinations to visit while in Arizona. One of the destinations at the top of my personal list was the Tohono Chul Gardens. I can't remember for sure, but I think my aunt who lives in the Catalina Foothills had given Tohono Chul the thumbs up; I just haven't ever had the opportunity to check it out. Also, it's definitely within the Leafcutter Ant zone, so.

This was a morning for sleeping in, so then we got over to the gardens shortly after they opened at 7 am, while it was still cooler out. At Tohono Chul, there are planted gardens filled with art, and additional desert ground to explore depending on how far a person wants to walk. Also, the original house on the land has been turned into an art gallery, and there is a cafe space, too. My students really want to go back again next weekend, too, for a Monsoon Market and Chillin' at the Chul, an evening gathering with refreshing drinks.



This was one of several amazing rocks on display:




I appreciated that there was an ocotillo planted next to a boojum and other related plants, so one could compare their growth habits:


We quickly found the ants. Here are some ants tending mealybugs on a brittlebush:


Here's the entrance to a leafcutter nest where the ants have been collecting Arizona willow flowers:


The cafe space has a beautiful, brand-new mural featuring Sonoran desert plants and creatures at night:


The rodent in the middle is a grasshopper mouse.

Some mural details:



Such a gorgeous tarantula, and there were lots of aliens tucked in everywhere.


Rhinestones and glittery stars for texture and sparkle:


Also some amazing sculptural work made from scrap material, particularly paper and cardboard over wire frame:






I LOVED this sculpture of a vulture out in the gardens, made from an old gas tank:


New to me: Palo Blanco.


A wonderful visit, and my only regret is our time was cut short because I had a pressing appointment: I'd signed up for a municipal composting class, in order to be able to drop off all the compost we generate this month rather than send so much organic matter to a landfill.

Originally I'd thought I'd go to the class by myself, but since we ran low on time due to lots of awesomeness in the garden, I wound up dragging my research students along, and the whole experience was all the better for it because they were unfamiliar with home composting!



The class was surprisingly good. The presenters kept the class under 30 minutes, giving us a short history of the program, information about what can and cannot go in the compost, and information about the compost dropoff locations and logistics.

Apparently the whole program originally got started by students at the U of A, who were concerned about the amount of food waste getting thrown out on campus. The students started a student club called the Compost Cats, and a few years later as their program grew, the City of Tucson got involved in helping the Compost Cats with their pickup system, and the Compost Cats expanded their efforts to also collect food waste from a bunch of local businesses.

However, at around that time, the whole program also wound up having to shut down because of problems with contamination of the compost materials. In 2021, a new municipal composting facility opened up, which allowed the city to restart its commercial composting program. Then in 2022, the mayor of Tucson issued an Emergency Climate Change Declaration that included goals to combat climate change, and the goals included a food waste diversion program. (I'd note that food waste that winds up in landfills generally undergoes anaerobic decomposition and releases methane, which is a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, so there's a lot of incentive to divert food waste to breakdown methods like composting that are aerobic and that also get all those nutrients back in places where they can be used to grow food again!). The Food Cycle at Home program really only started in earnest 2 years ago, in 2024. By now, there are over 4000 homes participating in the program. And in 2025, the Compost Cats merged with the Food Cycle at Home to help support the educational component of the program.

Their walkthrough of what can and cannot be composted was very thoughtfully put together. They talked about how people moving to Tucson might discover that not everything they might have been able to compost elsewhere can be composted through this program, for a wide range of logistical reasons. So for example, they can't accept any paper products other than coffee filters, and they can't accept bioplastics or yard waste.

A side benefit of the program is that participants all have access to free compost and mulch produced by the program! The program organizers arrange to have materials available to people at one of the dropoff sites every couple of weeks, and they rotate pickup sites to make it easier for people in different neighborhoods to get compost for their garden on a regular basis. What a great perk!

Once the class wrapped up, I went home and gathered up the compost we've been accumulating in the freezer so far, and biked it over to the closest dropoff station, 0.7 miles away next to a community garden.

The bins are kept locked, but you get the secret code after you complete the training.





When we conclude our time in Tucson, I will most likely leave the compost bucket at this AirBnB in a spot where it will be most likely to be found by someone who will actually also be motivated to compost. Or, I'll find another Tucson resident to adopt it.

I really liked this program. In Albany, the options are a bit different. We were able to receive a home composting bin after completing an online training on how to use the bin, but I have to say I appreciated the in-person session for the opportunity to ask questions and to hear what questions other people have. The online training also kind of glossed over a bunch of important details that were thoughtfully included in the Tucson training.

One of the other benefits of the in-person session is it makes you really aware that the whole operation is run by people: the Compost Cats mentioned to please not fill the pickup bins more than ~2/3 full, because if they are completely full the bins tend to drop inside the collector truck, and then that means at the end of collection a person has to climb in, retrieve the bin, and hose it off. They also showed us a photo of some of the commercial compost they'd received that was contaminated with large pieces of plastic, again pointing out that the implication was that a person would have to wade into the materials to pull the plastic back out.

All in all, both activities made for a very satisfying morning!