Wednesday, March 14, 2007
5pm
Wood Memorial (Freeman) branch of the Pima County Public Library
3455 N. 1st Avenue
791-4548
Turn water scarcity into water abundance by welcoming rain into your life, landscape, and soil. This presentation shares techniques and strategies empowering you to create integrated water-sustainable landscape plans at home and in the community. Rainwater harvesting is the process of capturing rain and making the most of it as close as possible to where it falls. By harvesting rainwater on the land – within the soil and vegetation, or in cisterns that will later irrigate the land, we can control erosion, reduce flooding, and minimize water pollution. Living in a world with a finite supply of fresh water that is increasingly polluted this practice becomes especially valuable. Living on an eighth of an acre in downtown Tucson, Arizona, where rainfall is less than 12 inches annually, Brad practices what he preaches by harvesting over 100,000 gallons of rainwater a year. Brad and his brother Rodd have created an oasis in the desert by directing this harvested rainwater not off their property and into storm drains, but instead incorporates it into living air conditioners of food-bearing shade trees, abundant gardens, and a thriving landscape that includes habitat for wildlife. Brad Lancaster is a permaculture teacher, designer, consultant and co-founder of Desert Harvesters (DesertHarvesters.org). Brad has taught programs for the ECOSA Institute, Columbia University, University of Arizona, Prescott College, Audubon Expeditions, and many others. He has helped design integrated water harvesting and permaculture systems for homeowners and gardeners, including the Tucson Audubon Simpson Farm restoration site, the Milagro and Stone Curves co-housing projects.