When rain falls in Southern California, it is best if we can slow, spread, and sink it into our landscapes, for multiple benefits, both to our gardens and the region. In this class, we will explore practical, low cost approaches to capturing the rain at home. Learn a practical approach that will cover infiltration basins and rain gardens, swales and berms, and rain barrels and cisterns.
Participants in the class will leave understanding:
- Why it is important for us to capture rainwater in our home landscapes
- How to determine which water harvesting approaches are most appropriate for a residential property, based on its specific conditions
- How to analyze the site and soil to ensure capturing rainwater will be safe and effective
- Great plants to integrate into water harvesting garden features
Each participant will be able to select a native wildflower seed packet of their choice to take home.
After the workshop concludes, for those who wish to stay, we will be offering a raffle give-away of some of our favorite waterwise California native plants. We will also tell you a bit about each one, why it is one of our favorites, and the garden situations in which it is likely thrive.
Our instructor for this workshop will be Scott Kleinrock, Conservation Programs Manager here at Chino Basin Water Conservation District and the Waterwise Community Center.
Scott has been working in horticulture for almost 20 years, focused on both the design and ongoing care of sustainable native or edible landscapes in Southern California at the residential and public garden scales. He has a master’s degree in landscape architecture for Cal Poly Pomona and was previously the Landscape Design and Planning Coordinator at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens.
