Sunrise Park Landscape Transformation

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Daily Acts is collaborating with the City of Petaluma Parks and Recreation Department to transform a portion of Sunrise Park’s existing lawn into a beautiful water-wise garden with native & climate adaptive plants. Additionally, we are excited to be collaborating with Occidental Arts & Ecology Center for our landscape design and plant selection.
 
With funding from the Department of Water Resources, Daily Acts’ has been able to successfully convert under-utilized areas of lawn in Petaluma parks and residences into water-wise gardens through the Land Resilience Partnership Program. These gardens, which previously required year-round water, are now native and climate adaptive gardens that enhance beauty, create habitat, and conserve our precious water resources.

Community members gathered to learn about the project in May.

PROPOSED PROJECT AREAS (UPDATED 8/1/25):

The project area for Sunrise Park has changed and will now focus on converting turf to a water-wise landscape in two sections of the sidewalk mow strip at both ends of the park. See proposed project area image below. Daily Acts and the City of Petaluma Park and Recreation Department are excited to use this project as a pilot to support best practices and maintenance strategies for future non-functional turf conversion projects.

As part of Assembly Bill 1572 which was passed in fall 2023, the City will be required to phase out the use of potable water on non-functional turf located at commercial, industrial and institutional properties beginning January 1st 2027. We believe this a great opportunity to model what is possible while preparing for this change.

POTENTIAL PROJECTS FOR SUNRISE PARK:

Lawn Conversion

Lawn Conversion is the removal of a monocrop landscape and planting low water or native plants. The shallow roots of turf grass compact soils limiting water absorption when it rains. Runoff picks up any chemicals or fertilizers from your yard and transfers them to local streams. With the installation of native species or low water use plants, roots are given a chance to grow deeper and create systems that hold water in the soil and lessening runoff.

Climate Appropriate Plantings

Deciding what to plant requires knowledge of the climate you live in, and it’s important to plant the right species to increase drought resilience and enhance local ecologies. This allows plants for better survival during periods of drought.