**Note: This workshop is part of WMG’s Water Harvesting Certification Program for 2010, and is not open to the general public.**
Visit watershedmg.org for more information, or to download an application.
Watershed Management Group (WMG) is pleased to announce the upcoming Water Harvesting Certification courses for 2010 and call for applications. The WMG Water Harvesting Certification program is a hands-on training course to earn certification in water harvesting design and implementation. Our goal at WMG is to effectively transfer water harvesting knowledge to those who can teach these practices and utilize them in their professions. The aim of the certification program is to provide the highest quality training in integrative water harvesting offered in the nation.
Program Description
The WMG Water Harvesting Certification program is an intensive hands-on training program held in Tucson, AZ. The program is geared towards educators, professionals, and community organizers seeking comprehensive instruction in water harvesting systems design and construction. This year marks our third year of the program.
WMG offers two levels of certification: WMG Water Harvesting Certification (Level 1) and WMG Advanced Water Harvesting Certification (Level 2). WMG will teach two sections of Level 1 over eight weeks during January-March 2010, and offer one section each of Level 1 and 2 during 9-day, condensed courses in summer 2010. This announcement focuses on the Level 1 courses in January-March only.
The curriculum focuses on design in retrofitting urban areas. Participants will be trained in all aspects of planning, installation, and maintenance of water harvesting systems. All topics covered during the Level I training will be taught through classroom lectures, on-site assessments, applied homework assignments, and implementation workshops. A typical week will include one 2-3 hour lecture on a weekday evening; and 4 to 8 hours of outside, hands-on work and study on one weekend day. Outside work is generally scheduled for the morning to avoid the warmest part of the day. Each section will consist of 12 participants; one section will have their workshops primarily on Saturdays and the other will have their workshop primarily on Sundays. The two sections will join together for weekday lectures and the final exam.
The certification program will include the following:
o Lectures on each major topic
o Hands-on site assessments at the sites where projects will be implemented
o Training workshops where participants learn by constructing water harvesting systems at residential and commercial sites
o Reading and homework assignments to solidify knowledge gained in the hands-on workshops
o Final exam to earn certification
What does Certification mean for me?
The certification course is designed and administered by WMG staff with assistance from an advisory board made up of professionals who teach and implement water harvesting practices. The lectures and trainings are taught by WMG staff and well-respected guest instructors. Certification signifies that the participant has received a thorough training and demonstrates a basic level of proficiency (assessed via written examination) in the topics outlined in the curriculum.
Participants who complete the Level 1 WMG Certification will be able to:
~ Integrate water harvesting systems with other design considerations (energy conservation, aesthetic design, food production, wildlife habitat, etc.)
~ Calculate runoff potential of catchment areas and run soil percolation tests
~ Create a water budget and match water harvesting systems with appropriate landscaping
~ Choose, size, and build appropriate earthworks features for different applications (basins, berms, swales, French drains)
~ Design greywater systems from laundry, bathroom sink, and bathroom shower water
~ Build gravity-fed greywater system from laundry machine wastewater to irrigate landscape
~ Size and build steel-culvert cistern
~ Size and install plastic cistern
~ Build sunken garden beds and improve soil for food production
~ Design all of the above systems while incorporating safety and health considerations
Visit watershedmg.org for more information, or to download an application.