Thanks to community partners Amarillo College, Acts Community Resource Center, and Xcel Energy for making these events possible!
PUBLIC WATER-HARVESTING TALK:
Date: Thursday, March 6
Time: 6–7:30 pm
Venue: Amarillo College Downtown Campus Auditorium
Address: 1314 S. Polk St, Amarillo TX 79101
—> Talk details <—
Integrated Local Harvests:
Simple and Effective Ways to Enhance the Natural Abundance of Your Home, Community, and the Larger World
This dynamic presentation shares patterns and strategies to harvest, integrate, and enliven free local resources—such as rain-, grey-, and stormwaters; sun, wind, and shade; along with soil fertility, wild foods, and community fun—in a way that generates far more potential than the sum of their parts. Scarcity is re-visioned into abundance simply through creative cycling and utilization of what is already at hand. Costly and consuming habits and infrastructure, disconnected from their surroundings, are reoriented and reconnected to maximize enriching opportunities.
You’ll see many examples of such transformation, including how once-dying wetlands and creek flows are being regenerated with simple hand-built structures made of on-site materials; how ancient sun- and shade-harvesting sites are informing passively heated, cooled, and powered modern homes and retrofits; and how once-blighted, overheated neighborhood streets are being rejuvenated into thriving greenbelts of water, people, wildlife, art, food, and celebration by planting once-drained stormwater, seed, and yard prunings.
This talk is both an invitation for you to engage and partner with your natural surroundings and community, and a treasure map showing you the way—by planting the rain, dancing with the sun, growing fertile shade, and more to live as one of your community’s inspirational sparks!

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HANDS-ON RAINGARDEN WORKSHOP:
Date: Friday, March 7
Time: 10:30 am – 5 pm (with a break for lunch)
Venue: Acts Community Resource Center
Address: 202 S. Louisiana, Amarillo TX 79106
Limited workshop spots available!
Reserve yours by sending an email to Teresa (tclemons@actx.edu) or calling (806) 467-3028
—> Workshop overview <—
The day will begin with a 1-hour presentation to orient workshop participants to the whats, whys, and hows of water-harvesting earthworks (10:30–11:30 am). After a short lunch break, the hands-on work will happen (noon–5 pm)! See details below.
Water-Harvesting Earthworks Presentation:
Planting the Rain: Principles, Practices, and Tips for Water-Harvesting Earthworks and Raingardens
Plant the rain before you plant your trees to boost production, reduce flooding, conserve water, and create sustainable oases around your homes and community infrastructure. Raingardens and other small-scale earthworks quickly infiltrate rainfall into the soil where less is lost to evaporation, while reducing erosion. Living ‘pumps’ of vegetation then enable us the access that water. Come learn simple principles and tips to leverage greater success as you implement these simple and effective passive systems. This presentation builds on Brad’s basic water-harvesting talk, while offering more specifics and case studies. Working examples and case studies will be highlighted.
Hands-on Workshop: Planting the Rain (and Other On-site Waters) to Grow Sustainable Abundance
In order to better see the whole and our place within the hydrologic cycle, each earthworkshop begins with participants learning the Water-Harvesting Principles; basic watergy facts; integration of sun, water, and community; oasis zones; how to think like a plant; and various earthworks strategies. We then assess the site, identifying water resources and watersheds, asking and answering relevant site-specific questions, and testing our observations with simple tools. Equipped with a deeper understanding of the site and its water, we then place and create water-harvesting earthworks, guided by the Principles, key integration techniques, and the goal of living within the site’s sustainable water budget. Depending on the site, typical earthworks created in an workshop can include infiltration basins/rain gardens, one-rock check dams, contour berm ‘n basins/swales or boomerang berm ‘n basins, and terracing. Time and resources permitting, we will plant guilds of vegetation within/beside the earthworks and view a presentation of earthworks from around the world.