On Saturday, November 16th 2019, Daily Acts partnered with the Town of Windsor and Foothills Homeowner Association to host a workshop on landscaping with fire in mind. The day was led by Daily Acts’ Senior Programs Coordinator, Liz Platte-Bermeo, and was supported by HOA resident and board member Ward Cargay.
The day began with touring the Foothill model site, highlighting the process of installing the garden and the water-wise features that the site includes such as sheet mulch, drip irrigation, swales and low-water use plants. Participants helped to lightly prune and weed the garden space and learned techniques for keeping plants maintained as seasons change. Next, everyone gathered in the center of the garden to discuss fire safer landscape practices. To kick off the conversation, everyone went around to mention one to two things that they wanted to learn about in regards to fire safe practices. From there, the conversation revolved around defensible space, the importance of maintaining your plants and garden space, characteristics of fire resistant plants and the benefits of maintaining healthy and moist soils with sheet mulching, irrigation and the right plants.
Courtesy of SBI soil products and Cottage Gardens, Daily Acts was able to bring examples of various mulch and gravel as well as plants for some visuals of fire-safe material and certain mulch that is more flammable than others. Following the conversation at Foothills, participants took a tour through the neighborhood and to Ward Cargay’s house for continued conversation and visuals of the do’s and don’ts of having a fire safer landscape. Participants got to hear Ward’s story of getting his garden established, and what he has recently learned would be avenues for fire to travel straight to his home, and his plan for replacing certain plants.
