On Saturday, March 11th, 2023 Daily Acts partnered with Santa Rosa Water and the Executive Director of the Habitat Corridor Project, April Owens, to bring a hands-on program that taught participants how to maintain a native, water-smart landscape. This event took place at the Living, Learning Landscapes located on the Santa Rosa Junior College Campus.
Participation was high and attendees showed up with enthusiasm and eager to learn and work in the gardens even despite the rainy conditions of the day. The program began with a discussion about the history of the landscape. April explained how 5 years ago, through the sheet mulching process, the once high water consuming, grass landscape was transformed into a beautiful water-wise garden. Through the efforts of the Habitat Corridor Project and the Master Gardeners, the landscape is now a thriving habitat for all kinds of birds and critters that also helps sequester atmospheric carbon. April and Master Gardeners lead a tour of the landscapes identifying plant species that are beneficial for biodiversity and have low water use requirements. Many participants were engaged and asking questions about plant species, pruning techniques, native grasses, and rain gardens.
Though the garden is a beautiful landscape, at the beginning of the day it was looking a bit too wild and overgrown and was in need of some maintenance. Following the talk and tour, April and Daily Acts Staff shared the various tasks for the day and participants took action and self assigned themselves to the roles identified. Some participants tackled weeding, others started cutting back and pulling up the oak suckers that were taking over a large part of the landscape. Through this hands-on portion participants learned how and why pruning native grasses is beneficial to their survival, how to identify invasive grasses, and about the importance of airflow within design and maintenance.
Thanks to everyone in attendance, by the end of the program the landscape was looking better than ever!
