fbpx

The Watershed Project

Alice Fong Yu

Rain, Rain, Come Out Today! | Local School Cuts the Ribbon on Rainwater Harvesting System


By Matthew Freiberg, Greening Urban Watersheds Program Manager

After the final bell on a foggy Friday last month, students, teachers, parents, and staff of the Alice Fong Yu School kicked off their weekend with a celebration of the school’s new rainwater harvesting system.

And the weather couldn’t have been more appropriate. About a half hour before the event was to start, the skies opened up and gave the system its first good soaking, sending raindrops from the school’s gardenshed roof through a pipe and into a large storage cistern. Then, as if on cue, the rain stopped just as school children streamed into the garden dawning fashionable trash sack raincoats.


The event began with some opening remarks recognizing the hard work dedicated to the project by students, parents, and staff of Alice Fong Yu. After Lanita Hernandez from the San Francisco Community Challenge Grant Fund cut the big blue ribbon, two students drew the first pail of water from the freshly filled storage cistern. “I can’t wait to watch the rain tank fill up and use it to grow vegetables in our school garden,” exclaimed one eager student.

In a typical year, the new system will allow the school to capture and use up to 1,200 gallons of rain to water the school’s organic garden. But the benefits go far beyond just the school garden. Rain captured and used on site offsets 1,200 gallons of water that would otherwise be taken from the city’s precious water supply. Every gallon of rain captured onsite is another gallon of stormwater that does not have to be treated in the city’s combined sewage system. If this system were to be replicated across the entire city, it could have a significant impact on expanding the city’s water supply, reducing water treatment costs, and improving water quality in the San Francisco Bay.


The Watershed Project highly encourages home and business owners to follow in the footsteps of the Alice Fong Yu School and save the rain. Rain barrels are one of the easiest and most affordable ways to make your property more watershed friendly.

For those who live in Oakland, The Watershed Project and The City of Oakland have formed a partnership to provide greater incentives by offering rain barrels discounted up to 75% off. Check out the program’s website to learn more about how you can get your rain barrel in time to detain the rain this winter! There is also plenty of information about upcoming workshops and presentations that will be held throughout Oakland in the coming months.

Any questions about rainwater harvesting or how you can make your homes or business more watershed friendly can be sent to matt@thewatershedproject.org.

Share

My First Watershed Project Workshop | An Intern Tells All


By Ken Schwab

Recently I traveled to San Francisco to join educators, professionals, and community members at a workshop presented by The Watershed Project whose focus was using award-winning teaching tools to bring awareness of healthy watersheds to our youth. Since I am new to the project, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

We met on the 5th of November at the Alice Fong Yu Elementary School in San Francisco. I was pleasantly greeted by The Watershed Project’s Public Programs Manager Martha Berthelsen, Education Coordinator Katy Brogan, and AmeriCorps Intern Diana Dunn. After chatting with these workshop leaders, I drifted over to a row of tables with displays, maps, field guides, a course reader, and many other watershed-related materials. “How cool is this?” I thought. The collection captured an array of topics that included local plant and vegetation, animal and marine life, how urban development and culture are shaping the planet, and opportunities to become involved in restoration.


As I was mingling before the workshop, the depth and breadth of teaching experience and expertise among fellow workshop participants struck me. I could tell that I was going to walk away from this workshop a better educator.

The core objective of the workshop was to take participants on a journey from mountaintop to upland habitats, creek ecology, marshes and marine debris. The first activity we learned was “Watershed in Your Hand”– a clever approach for kids to get a sense of how the dynamics of climate interact with watersheds. The class started by crumpling a piece of paper into a ball. As we carefully unraveled the ball, the terrain of our paper watersheds emerged. We marked the soil on the mountaintops, water in creeks, and urban development using colored markers. Then came the rain. In place of Mother Nature, we used squirt bottles and dowsed our watersheds with water. As the water flowed from the crumpled peaks to valleys of the paper, the colors blended together, demonstrating the interconnectedness of our waterways, homes, and environment.


The tour of the garden was remarkable. The school’s garden coordinator spoke of how students were eager to become involved even during recess. She also pointed out a shiny new rainwater harvesting system installed by The Watershed Project. Taking a moment, I began to appreciate the possibilities of watershed awareness projects in dense urban areas.

When it came time for lunch, we were surprised and thrilled to be provided with a delicious, home-cooked meal that was prepared and delivered by Executive Director Linda Hunter.

One section of the afternoon session exposed us to the Living Shoreline Initiative headed by Christopher Lim of The Watershed Project. He discussed the initial steps being taken to restore the native oyster population in the San Francisco Bay. I was amazed at the efforts currently underway to restore underwater ecosystems. He also emphasized the educational offerings, including free field trips for high school students!

At the end of the day, I walked away with an experience that was educational, entertaining, inspiring. I can’t wait to continue to get my hands wet in the world of environmental education.

Share

Just in Time for the Rain | Rainwater Cistern Promises a Green School Garden


By Matt Freiberg

Last weekend, the students of Alice Fong Yu School had extra homework. Along with their parents and helpful neighbors, they were to build a new rainwater system for their school garden.

The Alice Fong Yu School‘s rainwater harvesting project was built by a massive community effort. Dozens of students, parents, neighbors, friends, and professional volunteers assisted with project design and installation. The group mounted gutters, poured cement, and planned a plumbing system. The collaborative effort paid off when the 660-gallon cistern was installed this month, just in time for the rainy season.


The rainwater harvesting project is designed to capture around 21 inches of annual rainfall (the Bay Area’s average) as it lands on of the school garden’s tool shed. The structure’s modest 89 square-foot roof will direct approximately 1,000 gallons of rainwater to the cistern, where the students can use the water to irrigate the school’s garden during dry months. This system will reduce the school’s need for a hose to water the garden, meaning less water is pumped from Hetch Hetchy.


In addition to providing the school with a new sustainable water source, the cistern will also be a teaching tool in the school’s garden classroom. Students will learn about the benefits of catching water from the sky, including the bonus that it’s free, it reduces the water that must be treated by the City’s combined stormwater and sewer network, and it helps keep the environment clean.

The Watershed Project is proud to have partnered with the Alice Fong Yu Parent Association– a group of passionate parents who are dedicated to their school and the environment. After much planning and coordination with the school’s garden coordinator, we were finally able to break ground last summer. Much of the project was paid for with sweat equity from the school staff, parents, and students. We were also delighted to secure cement donations from Bode Concrete and contractor support from Michael Heavey Construction.

If you are interested in learning about how you can install a similar rainwater harvesting system at your local school, business, or private residence, please email matt@thewatershedproject.org for more information.

Share