Funded by the Coastal Conservancy and Prop 1, Daily Acts is partnering with the Sonoma County Water Agency, Conservation Corps North Bay (CCNB) and three Sonoma County schools to convert 20,000 square feet of lawn and asphalt into water conscious habitat gardens. Beginning October 17th 2017 and continuing through spring 2018, Daily Acts will work with crews from CCNB at the Santa Rosa Junior College, El Molino High School and Guerneville Elementary to sheet mulch, dig rain gardens, and install irrigation and plant water-wise species.
For each site Daily Acts will be providing training and program management to the CCNB crews as well as promoting green job skills for sustainable landscaping practices such as sheet mulching, water-wise native plants, drip irrigation and rainwater catchment where appropriate. Crew members will also have the opportunity to learn more about native plants and their uses as well as appropriate handling as they support the garden installation based on approved planting plan. After installation, crew members will build a drip irrigation system to ensure the survival of each plant, gaining an understanding of the main components and how to assemble. At certain sites, crew members will help to install in-ground water catchment features such as swales and rain gardens in addition to above ground water storage tanks.
By converting a total of 20,000 square feet of irrigated lawn and impervious surface into a permeable, water-wise garden, we will be saving about 500,000 gallons of water annually once these projects are completed. Daily Acts will develop a maintenance plan for each site, and meetings with the school facilities department will help ensure that the landscape lives up to its full potential in the years to come.
