Wholly H2O’s October 2011 Forum: "Managing Water in Urban Agriculture and School Gardens"
Managing Water in Urban Agriculture and School Gardens
Who can complain about more food being grown both organically and locally, often by children in school gardens? Often urban gardens add to green spaces in urban areas, as well as providing learning centers for appropriate local sustainable practices that include soil and pest management, composting, bee keeping, livestock management, etc. Recently San Francisco passed an ordinance that allows urban farms to sell the food they grow, encouraging even more agriculture within the city.
Yet, the question that has been surfacing amongst water managers and legislators is where will the water come from to allow these urban agriculture and school gardens to flourish? Might they, by the laws of unintended consequences, create an even greater strain on already taxed California water supplies?
This month's forum includes two specialists in both water management and urban agriculture to answer these questions with specific information about managing water in urban agriculture and school gardens in order to maximize effectiveness with minimal water.
PANELISTS
Kevin Bayuk, Co-Founder and Partner, Lift Business Coaching and Urban Permaculture Institute Kevin will explore how we can manage our water use in the urban environment for productive use (urban agriculture) in ways that conserve more water than current landscape practices. Kevin will describe site-specific considerations for designing urban agriculture landscapes that conserve water through initial site layout, vegetation selection, soil management and cultural irrigation practices and techniques. He will also explore appropriate strategies for diversification of supply. Data and examples referenced will mostly be from within the city of San Francisco. Kevin Bayuk is a co-founder and partner of Lift Business Coaching, leading local business and ventures into the next economy and the Urban Permaculture Institute. He serves on the Board of Directors for the San Francisco Permaculture Guild and the Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council. Kevin facilitates permaculture trainings and teaches food systems design with Earth Activist Training, UPISF.com and UC Berkeley Extension. He has helped his students and colleagues start and operate urban permaculture sites such as 18th and Rhode Island.
Jessie Raeder, Co-President, SalmonAid Foundation; Board Member, Hayes Valley Farm Jessie's talk will provide the "why" when it comes to water conservation. She will address the current management of water resources in California and the environmental crisis that has resulted for our freshwater ecosystems, such as our rivers and the San Francisco Bay Delta Estuary. She will focus on the Tuolumne River, which provides tap water for much of the Bay Area and is a major source of agricultural water for California's Central Valley. Jessie Raeder is an activist and organizer working to protect California's waterways and endangered species. In her day job with the Tuolumne River Trust, she works to get more water released for fish and wildlife. She is the Co-President of the SalmonAid Foundation and active in the movement to restore wild salmon to many rivers across the West Coast. As a member of the Board of Hayes Valley Farm, she is excited about the solutions that permaculture provides for the water issues she works on professionally.
Please RSVP - info@whollyh2o.org
Cost: $10 (Free to members of Wholly H2O)