Water conservation incentives in the Inland Empire are the focus of a water-saving garden workshop at Cal State San Bernardino. The two-part workshop will take place on Thursday, May 19, and Saturday, May 21.
The May 19 workshop will be held at the CSUSB John M. Pfau Library, room PL-256, from 7-8:30 p.m. Parking is $6. On May 21, the second workshop will be held at the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation Demonstration Garden at CSUSB, located at the north end of parking Lot G. Parking for the demonstration garden is complimentary. Visit the parking information center located on Coyote Drive off Northpark Boulevard and pick up a free daily parking pass.
Sponsored by The Inland Empire Resource Conservation District, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, the city of San Bernardino Water Department, and the CSUSB Water Resources Institute, the workshops are free and open to the public.
Thursday’s workshop consists of the latest information on water conservation incentives and rebates available to community residents. Saturday’s workshop will be an outdoor lecture with individual provider updates, along with a question and answer session. Participants will also be eligible to win plants and seeds during a special giveaway.
The Water Resources Institute at CSUSB is a place to convene, to study, to meet challenges and to solve problems related to the most critical of water issues, water resources. More than ever before – in the San Bernardino Valley, the Santa Ana Watershed and all of Southern California and the Southwest – water resource management, conservation and wise use will determine the capacity for quality growth and economic development. The WRI offers the ideal environment for ongoing progress in meeting water resources challenges.
With a ground breaking in 2010, the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation Demonstration garden launched a partnership between the university, the WRI and several community associates who sought to educate San Bernardino Valley residents about ways to lower their outdoor water consumption.
One way to do this is by replacing irrigated grass with water-wise landscaping. There is a lack of knowledge about planning, building and maintaining these landscapes, says the WRI, along with the misconception that saving water on landscapes limits homeowners to cactus. The garden was built to show that plant lovers have many colorful ways to make their landscapes beautiful.
The garden was built without state funds, with major donations from San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and Inland Empire Resource Conservation District. In-kind gifts included labor, soil, plants, signage, and technical advice.
To register, or for directions and event specifics, contact Jennifer Castillo at castillo@iercd.orgor by phone at (909) 799-7407 ext. 100.
For more information on this event and upcoming workshops contact Kathleen Firstenberg by email at kfirstenberg@csusb.edu.
About California State University, San Bernardino: Set in the foothills of the beautiful San Bernardino Mountains, Cal State San Bernardino is a preeminent center of intellectual and cultural activity in inland Southern California. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015-2016, CSUSB serves more than 20,000 students each year and graduates about 4,000 students annually. For more information about Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.