Learn about rainwater harvesting and use of greywater at Living Green workshop

April 25, 2018 at 5:00 pm

Did you know that you can collect more than 400 gallons of free water off the rooftop of a typical home from just half an inch of rain? You can learn this and much more at Mesa's upcoming Living Green event, a monthlong Hydrate Mesa series taking place at the Mesa Main Library, 64 E 1st Street. Occurring from 6-7:30 p.m. every Tuesday, May 1 through May 29, participants can attend a favorite topic or attend the full series. Those attending the first program, Hydrate Your Yard, will receive a free rain gauge. The series will also include a raffle for other great prizes, such as Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond by local Tucson author, Brad Lancaster.

"We are so excited to be partnering with Mesa Library and Watershed Management Group to once again bring this series to Mesa," said Donna DiFrancesco, Conservation Coordinator with the Environmental Management & Sustainability Department. "Ryan Wood and others from Watershed Management Group do an outstanding job teaching this series, and even though conditions are dry now, it will rain again, I promise."

Series sessions will be presented as follows:

May 1 - Hydrate Your Yard: Learn to use passive rainwater harvesting to create a series of berms, basins and swales that will direct rainwater to beneficial use for plants. May 8 - Hydrate Your Plants: Create a beautiful, lush landscape with native plants that will also provide a wildlife habitat and shade your home. May 15 - Hydrate Your Food: Learn how to use rain tanks as an active form of rainwater harvesting to nourish your vegetable and herb gardens throughout the year. May 22 - Hydrate Your Soils: Assess your yard's soil type and learn simple ways to effectively use typical household wastes (compost/greywater) to build soil health. May 29 - Hydrate with Greywater: Understand more about laundry-to-landscape systems to recycle greywater to nourish plants and reduce your water bills.

The program is presented by the Watershed Management Group, a local nonprofit, whose goal is to create unity, peace and progress around water and watershed health with a belief that starting what we do at our own homes with small but meaningful acts, can increase our commitment to our community. Walk-ins are welcome, but advance registration is highly encouraged. Register at https://watershedmg.org/learn/classes/hydrate.

The aim of the "Living Green" events is to inform the community about why and how to increase the sustainability of our community and is part of a larger effort by the City of Mesa to develop and implement innovative programs to address environmental issues and concerns. For more information visit www.mesaaz.gov/sustainability.

Environmental Management & Sustainability
Contact: Mariano Reyes
Tel. (480) 644-5005
mariano.reyes@mesaaz.gov