Water
Wise Expo
at the
Sunday March 29th 9 AM to 2 PM
Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.
Co-Hosts
Saving water starts with us.
Join us to learn simple ways to save
water and money in our homes and gardens.
Monday, March 9, 2015
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Let's Be Ready For The Rain That We Do Get!
Rain
Barrel Truckload Sale
Rain
Barrels FREE After Rebate!
The
MWD and DWP gives up to a $100 rebate per barrel for 4 Rain Barrels per
household, with one submission allowed. The cost of the rain barrels is $85.00
and then you apply for the rebate and you will receive your money back!
Pick
up your rain barrels from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For easier pick up, distribution on March 29th will be from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Hub on Venice at 11827 Venice Blvd.
Meet Rain Barrels International and learn about nature's solution to our drought, and explore all the opportunities that fresh, soft chemical free water offers to your garden.
The rain barrel is an invention that has been used for centuries, but in recent years their relevance has become more pronounced. When we do get rain, we can't tolerate the waste of letting it run into storm drains. Learn how it can be captured and reused!
This is a business that was founded for all of the right reasons - read their wonderful story....
The Rain Barrel Company was started in 2006 by our 12 year old son (who wanted to make one for me as a birthday gift). I loved the barrel and so did all my friends. My son then took it to a local garden center (Norwood Road Gardens, Raleigh, NC) who graciously agreed to sell his product. In the next couple of days the garden center sold four rain barrels and my son enlisted the manufacturing assistance of his twin sister. The children decided that this would be their way to help the environment and make some extra holiday spending money. They quickly found out they were providing a top quality product with high demand.
The business has grown and our products are currently sold in 119 stores in nine states. On Friday nights, we no longer all go into the garage as a family to watch a video, eat popcorn and make rain barrels together. However, both of our young teens are still very involved in the business and are learning the day to day operations of running a company. Our company now has a crew that assembles our rain barrels out of recycled food grade barrels that would otherwise be headed to landfills.
Our children have proven that everyone can make a difference to address our country's drought and recycling concerns.
Friday, February 27, 2015
Preview Screening - " WATER WOES: We Plan for Your Eating"
Please join us for the special preview screening of "WATER WOES: We Plan for Your Eating" - a work-in-progress documentary exploring how
California's small farmers are adapting to the challenges of water shortages
and climate change. The documentary is sponsored by the Mar Vista Farmers' Market.
The
film looks at the implications of the drought for farmers and consumers, the
innovations of small farmers, water policies and politics, and the connections
between the urban and rural economies through the exchange mechanism of the
farmers market.
We will be screening the documentary continuously during the Expo.
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Open Office Hours with CD11 Councilmember Mike Bonin
We are pleased to announce that Co-Host Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin will hold open office hours for community input at the Water Wise Expo on March 29th. Stay tuned for more info!
Fracking - How Much Water Does it Use? How Much Does it Poison?
Did you know that Fracking is exempt from major environmental laws, including the Safe Drinking Water Act?
Food & Water Watch will be at the Water Wise Expo on March 29th to answer your questions about fracking and urban oil production, and the tremendous amounts of drought
defying water it consumes. Learn about the shocking
lack of oversight of Central Valley aquifers into which oil companies have been
directly disposing their toxic waste. Can we really afford to sacrifice this much water?
Monday, February 23, 2015
Save Water and Money with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power!
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power will join us at the Expo with tips on how to save water and money. Visit and learn about their turf replacement rebate and California Friendly Landscape Incentive Program. Get information on the federal tax credits available when you install a tankless water heater and other water saving tips for our homes.
Sunday, December 14, 2014
G3 Green Gardens Group
Meet Pamela Berstler of G3 Green Gardens Group and learn about the hands on programs that they offer.
Studies show we retain
10% of what we read, 50% of what we see and hear, but 90% of what we
DO. The G3 Residential and Garden Steward Programs are
interactive, fun, hands-on, peer-to-peer classes and workshops designed
to motive people from all backgrounds and gardening experience toward
conserving water and other resources, holding on to rain, building healthy,
carbon sequestering soil, and sharing their positive experiences with their
neighbors.
G3 offers four classes for residents and garden stewards: Hands-on Workshops (HOWs), Watershed Basics Classes, Neighborhood Walks, Get A Garden Guru, and Garden Steward Series (Maintenance Practices).
Thursday, December 11, 2014
What is an Ocean Friendly Garden?
Ocean Friendly Gardens retain rainwater as a resource and prevent runoff, create permeable soil and hard surfaces, and conserve water, energy and wildlife habitat. Meet the team from Surfider Ocean Friendly Gardens at the Expo on March 29th and learn about their hands on workshops and how you can transform your lawn!
The 2,000 square feet in front of the Hermosa
Beach Community Center is now home to an Ocean Friendly Garden (OFG). A recent
ribbon cutting celebrated how rainwater from the roof is now directed into the
garden.
This OFG is
the 7th out of 10 that are funded through a state grant awarded to West Basin Municipal Water District and
Surfrider Foundation. Except for one of the gardens, the designs are created by
Surfrider partner, G3/Green Gardens Group.
In this case, the G3 designer was John Tikotsky,
a landscape architect.
The simple, yet functional, design helps slow,
spread and sink rainwater. All the plants are local natives. Click here to
read more, and go check it out: 710 Pier Ave, Hermosa Beach, CA 90254.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Learn How We Can REUSE the Water in Our Homes on March 29th!
Sunday March 29th 9 AM to 2 PM
Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.
Please stop by to learn about a menu of options that would allow you to become a little more water self sufficient! Consider a laundry-to-landscape grey water system that uses the water that washed your clothes to irrigate your garden!
Monday, December 8, 2014
Los Angeles Waterkeeper Dirty for the Drought!
Los Angeles Waterkeeper Invites Us to
Join their Movement to Fight the Drought!
California is experiencing the worst drought in recorded history. We must spread the word and do our part to conserve water.
Visit them at the Expo on March 29th to Take the Dirty Car Pledge
Spread the Word
Sign the pledge and pick up a “Dirty for the Drought” car sticker (It’s static cling, so it won’t ruin your car ). The 10,000 pledges they have received have saved an estimated 3
million gallons of water have been saved so far!
Put the sticker on the inside of your back car window to help spread the word while you’re driving.
Take a photo and post it on social media with the hashtag #DirtyCarPledge. Tag your friends in the post and challenge them to take the pledge, too!
Why Plant Natives? Check out the Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase!
 |
12531 Preston Way |
Did you know that an average of 40% of the water used in our homes is used to irrigate what we plant? The Mar Vista Community Council Green Committee will be a guest presenter at the Expo on March 29th - stop by to learn about the 7th annual The Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase that will be held on April 25th.
This tour of sustainable and edible gardens empowers Angelenos to adopt environmentally conscious living solutions. Each garden has one or more of the following sustainability features: California native/drought tolerant plantings, edibles, water catchment systems or chickens. Visitors can talk with landscapers and meet landscapers as well as do-it-yourself gardeners who share knowledge and experience. Special guest presenters at many gardens will enhance your knowledge of sustainability in daily living.
Visit their tent at the Water Wise Expo to learn about the gardens on this years tour and get tips on what will be new this year!
Why Trees? Learn More From TreePeople on March 16th!
TreePeople has partnered with us as Co-Host on the Water Wise Expo and will help us understand how to protect our trees through the drought.Trees are the most vital resource for environmental well-being in urban areas. While it may seem counter-intuitive to irrigate trees in a water crisis, it is the single most important thing to do. Trees actually are key to a sufficient local water supply in Los Angeles.
When it does rain, a mature tree can capture thousands of gallons of rainwater in its canopy and root zone, sinking that rain into the aquifer. Because so much of our city is paved, every time it rains an inch in the City of Los Angeles, 3.8 billion gallons of precious water runs off into the ocean and is wasted. When it doesn’t rain, trees shade and cool our city by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Visit TreePeople at the Expo to learn more about response to the drought!
Sunday March 16th 9 AM to 2 PM
Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Guest Presenters at the Water Wise Expo in 2014
Saving water starts with us.
These guests will present simple ways to save water and money in our homes and gardens.
Co-Host Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin will hold open office hours for community input from
10:00AM to 12:00PM
Co-Host TreePeople on drought response and water capture
Pre-order from Rain Barrels International
Grey Water Corps on how to reuse water in our homes
10:00AM to 12:00PM
Co-Host TreePeople on drought response and water capture
Pre-order from Rain Barrels International
Grey Water Corps on how to reuse water in our homes
Margot Griswold, Ph.D. and Los Angeles Audubon on how to kill your lawn and why we should
Marcia Hanscom of the Ballona Institute on planting California Natives
Lawrence Ziese of WorldFest on water and our food choices
The Mar Vista Green Garden Showcase on the April 26th tour of sustainable and edible gardens
Co-Host AltBuild on water conservation resources and the upcoming AltBuild Expo
Well Water USA on water filtration options
KOR Water with reusable bottles
Susan Klos, National Association of Realtors GREEN Designee on LADWP free water conservation tools and rebates
Food & Water Watch will provide information on fracking and the Bay-Delta Conservation plan and their implications on the drought
Surfrider Ocean Friendly Gardens program
Keep checking back as we add presenters!
How the Drought is Impacting Our Farms - Gonzaga Farms
Ronnie Gonzaga had a long and successful career in construction as a
general contractor and Tess Gonzaga began her career in the medical field as an
RN. They founded Gonzaga Farms in July 2001 with the idea of bringing a
high quality of fresh and unique produce to the Southern California community
at competitive prices. Their mission is to help create a stronger community by
providing nutritional education to consumers while encouraging them to eat
healthy organic food.
They have 4 sites
and 3 different wells but in the city of LA, historically it has been cheaper
to buy water than to use the electricity to pump from their wells.
Pumping costs twice as much with electricity rates being so high within
the City of LA. Now the city water is no longer available except in the
case of emergency. They have had to make deposits on emergency supplies.
It used to be $158 an acre, now it is $1200. It’s getting to the point
where they can’t sell enough fruit to make the money needed to afford the
water. They can buy outside water but it is 180% more expensive.
They use micro
sprinklers next to the trees to irrigate. These shoot water efficiently just
to the crucial point that feeds the root. When it rains they can wait two
weeks to water.
They have new
trees to plant but aren't doing it yet because they fear not having enough
water. If things don't improve, they may have to let those trees just
decompose and die.
How the Drought is Impacting Our Farms - Arnett Farms
For over 103 years the Arnett Family has
been operating one of the best farms in California. Arnett Farms, located in
Fresno, grows over 200 different varieties of stone fruits, citrus, and
berries, as well as apples and persimmons.
Normally
their water comes from surface irrigation from
nearby lakes with pumps. Today, those lakes are at 15-17% capacity. When
they can’t get surface irrigation, they use their wells, which is much more
expensive. This year, 90% to 100% of their water will come from the wells. They
are working to upgrade the wells, but so is every other farm in the area and
the service providers are back up 2 to 3 months. It’s a race to get the wells
upgraded in time for the summer water needs.
This
is the worst year of drought in Scott’s lifetime - going into the 3rd year of
little rain with no drainage carry over to replenish their ground water. They
are trying to convert to drip irrigation – most farms have stayed with surface
irrigation in the past because it replenishes the ground water.
They
are still in a major crisis despite the little bit of rain we have had
recently. All they can do is their best to get their wells in shape and
hope that it rains.
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