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.

Rain Barrels should be pre-ordered but we will have some available the day of the event. Order here. 

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.

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.

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?

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.

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). 

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. 

Learn How We Can REUSE the Water in Our Homes on March 29th!

Sunday March 29^th 9 AM to 2 PM

Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.

Greywater Corps  designs and installs residential greywater irrigation systems and teaches homeowners how to use them. Their systems are generally simple and low-maintenance, relying on gravity and natural processes to save water to turn our homes into an essential part of a healthy ecosystem.

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!

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 16^th 9 AM to 2 PM

Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.

Conserving Water With Native Plants - Learn How on March 16th!

A single-family residential customer may use 140 gallons of water a day - and about 40 percent of that is used outdoors to water our lawns.

Marcia Hanscom of Ballona Institute will present information about how planting with native plants helps to conserve water, and also even conserve energy!   She will talk about the things you need to consider when determining which native plants will work in your yard.  Ballona Institute has been working for four years with two schools in the LA Unified School District, growing native plants from seeds and cuttings, and realizing the need for more nurseries and others to grow native plants so we can bring back more native songbirds, butterflies and other pollinators to the flora in our region.

Sunday March 16^th 9 AM to 2 PM

Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.

Take Back the Tap! Take the Pledge on March 16th!

Take Back the Tap!

Food & Water Watch will also be on hand presenting information to urge us to take the pledge to choose tap water over bottled!

We believe water should be safe, accessible and affordable for all; that clean water is a basic human right and a public service, not a corporate commodity.

Tap water is a better choice than bottled water, for many reasons:

• Bottled water is not safer than tap water. In fact, the federal government requires more rigorous and frequent safety testing and monitoring of municipal drinking water.

• Bottled water is thousands of times more expensive than tap water. Compare $0.002 per gallon for most tap water to a range of $0.89 to $8.26 per gallon for bottled waters.

• Bottled water hurts the environment. After millions of barrels of oil are used to produce and ship plastic water bottles, 75% of them land in the garbage or our waterways instead of the recycle bin.

Sunday March 16^th 9 AM to 2 PM

Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.

Conserving With Home Filtration Options - Learn More on March 16th!

Did you know that reverse osmosis may waste 4 gallons of water for each gallon that is filtered? Whether you drink individual bottled water or have a home delivery system, chances are it is produced using reverse osmosis.

Well Water USA will present options that filter water without using reverse osmosis and no wastage as well as a whole house filtration system. They will also be offering water saving shower filters, emergency water kits, travel alkaline portable water sticks and more water conservation tools.

Sunday March 16^th 9 AM to 2 PM

Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.

Our Diet Has a Water Footprint Too! Learn More on March 16th!

There is a huge difference in the water used to produce beans versus meat. Learn how our food choices can help combat the drought.

Lawrence Ziese of WorldFest will join us to share his vegan tips. Maybe you are ready for a 30 day trial as a vegan or just want to add a meatless Monday to your week. Lawrence will share some easy recipes using what is being sold at the market the day of the Expo.

Sunday March 16^th 9 AM to 2 PM

Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.

Learn About LADWP FREE Water Conservation Tools and Rebates on March 16th!

Mar Vista resident and National Association of Realtors GREEN Designee,  Susan Klos , will provide information on the DWP’s FREE Home Energy Improvement Program. Participants receive in-home installation of water saving devices including sink aerators, shower heads and ultra high-efficiency toilets. And it’s all for FREE!

In addition, Susan will have rebate information for turf replacement through the California Friendly Landscape Incentive Program, information on the federal tax credits available when you install a tankless water heater and other water saving tips for the home.

Sunday March 16^th 9 AM to 2 PM

Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.

Plastic Bottled Water - What a Waste! Join KOR Water on March 16th!

 

Did you know that it takes 1.85 GALLONS of water to create one plastic bottle that holds 16 ounces of water?

We are in the midst of a drought, yet as many as 100 brands of bottled water may be drawing water from California aquifers. Although our State’s Department of Health requires them to report how much they are removing from groundwater sources, this information is not made available to the public or to lawmakers in the state. Do we really want to support this waste?

KOR will be a presenter at the Water Wise Expo. Check out their great reusable bottles - including one that will filter tap water when you are refilling at public venues.

Nava makes ordinary tap water taste great by filtering as you sip

Vida - tapered profile and ergonomic handle,smooth, threadless spout -
 a first for a steel bottle

Check out these great documentaries on the topic - Flow and Tapped to learn more

Sunday March 16^th 9 AM to 2 PM

Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.

Save Water - Learn How to Kill Your Lawn on March 16th!

KILL YOUR LAWN" COMIC BOOK

Los Angeles Audubon will be giving out FREE copies of Kill Your Lawn. During the summer of 2011, a core group of students in Los Angeles Audubon's Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program completed artwork for the "Kill Your Lawn" comic book. This project was one aspect of the TogetherGreen Fellowship grant received by Los Angeles Audubon, and the goal was to create a comic-style brochure for the public about the conservation value of replacing lawn with native plant species. These students worked hard, dedicating five weeks of their summer break to the project, and they created outstanding comics that address the whys and hows of killing your lawn, how to care for native plants, and designing a food and native plant garden. 

What could be easier? In one visit, presenters will give you information on how the LADWP will pay you to remove your grass, LA Audubon will give you a simple "How To" guide and Ballona Institute will advise you on how to plant with natives!

Sunday March 16^th 9 AM to 2 PM

Corner of Grand View & Venice, Mar Vista, CA.