- Green Garden Group Homeowner Basics
Home gardeners and those wanting to change how they approach their garden can begin by attending a Homeowner basic class. These classes are sponsored by water providers, local city agencies or privately funded by organizations wanting to make a difference in the community. Go to the Homeowner Class Schedule to see if one is up in your area. If you would like to sponsor a class in your area please give us a call.
Current Schedule: Homeowner Basic Class Schedule
The primary objective of the Basics Class is to help Participants understand their connection with the urban watershed in which they live, and demonstrate strategies for reducing potable water consumption and retaining water on their property by creating beautiful, sustainable, habitat-enhancing private landscapes. The six principles of sustainable landscaping are illustrated through several concepts including:
• Understanding Water Supply and Reading The Water Bill
• Developing a “Sense of Place” and Understanding Plant water requirements
• Water Budgeting
• The “Soil Party” in Living Soil and Building a “Sponge” Garden
• Capturing “First Flush” and Eliminating Dry-weather Runoff
• Employing Low-flow Irrigation and Weather-based Irrigation Technology
• Planting Climate-Appropriate Gardens and Selecting Local Native Plants
• Empowering Yourself and Your Neighbors
After completion of the Homeowner Basic class you may want to attend a Hands-On Workshop (HOWs)
Current Schedule: Hands On Workshop Schedule
These in-situ learning events are designed to help people bridge the gap from conceptual learning in the classroom to implementation of best management practices in their home environments. The difficulty of the subject matter varies with the HOW topic, but all are designed to provide valuable knowledge to the least skilled homeowner/renter as well as to experienced professionals.
HOWs have been developed for the following sustainable landscaping topics:
- Site Analysis
- Irrigation Retrofit and Timer Programming
- Turf Removal / Soil Remediation
- Downspout Redirect / Rain Garden Construction
- Successful Native Habitat Planting / Drip Irrigation
- Advanced Rainwater Catchment Strategies
- Land Stewardship Practices (Maintenance)
HOWs can be experienced on an individual basis or sequentially. Taken in combination, all significant topics discussed in the classroom related to analyzing a site and implementing sustainable landscaping solutions are covered by these seven classes.