On August 7th, 2021, Daily Acts teamed up with the City of Petaluma to host a beautiful, connective and educational tour of home Laundry-to-Landscape graywater reuse systems led by Senior Programs Coordinator Liz Platte-Bermeo and Programs Coordinator Connor DeVane.
The group gathered at City Hall in front of the Daily Acts model site garden. Attendees were clearly eager to socialize in the wake of COVID-19 restrictions lightening; much mingling took place before our opening circle. Connor and Liz set the context with a rundown of our current drought status, a high-level overview of graywater reuse, and the day’s agenda. Our first stop was one block away at Cynthia and John Rathkey’s beautiful home and garden. The Rathkeys shared about Daily Acts and volunteers installing their system, as well as their experience living with an L2L graywater system: maintenance, how it has impacted their garden and lives, the soaps they use, and more. Next was a visit to Abigail and Brad Smyth’s home on Western Ave, where participants got to see a more complicated plumbing set-up; the Smyths’ washing machine is not against an external wall, so they had to route PVC through their basement to reach the garden. The group reconvened at City Hall, where Liz and Connor gave a history of the City Hall Model Site Landscape and shared COVID-safe individually packaged snacks. Everyone who registered for the tour received a follow-up email with resources delving further into the details of L2L systems.
