Watershed Management Group will hold its first Water Harvesting Certification course in Santa Barbara, from August 19-28.We are still seeking locations for some of the course workshops.  Please read more below.  Site visits need to be done this week and next so we need to hear from you as soon as possible if you are interested.

The WMG Water Harvesting Certification provides a unique, hands-on 65-hour curriculum in water harvesting systems design and construction, with an emphasis on retrofitting urban areas while working in concert with the local environment. The course teaches design, implementation, and installation of greywater systems, water harvesting earthworks, and plastic and steel cisterns.

The WMG Water Harvesting Certification program provides the highest quality and greatest depth of training in integrative water harvesting offered in the nation. In the last two years, WMG has trained over 80 people through our Water Harvesting Certification from throughout the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.

This Santa Barbara course will feature sessions taught by a variety of experts including Santa Barbara’s Art Ludwig and Tucson’s Brad Lancaster.

We are seeking locations for our hands-on workshops, including integrated design, earthworks, a steel culvert cistern installation, plastic rain tank,  and laundry to landscape greywater system.  We would like at least some of these sites to be in the public eye, so the community as a whole can see that they can happen, that they can work, and how they work.  We ask that sites used for our workshops be available from time to time in the future for educational tours such as the one we are having at the beginning of our course.  There are some possible  costs involved in hosting a WHC workshop, including costs of materials, contractors if needed, such as a plumber for a greywater system, and labor fees, but we have found that installations done during our courses typically run 30-50% less than comparable commercial work.  

The first step to hosting a workshop is to schedule a site visit with Barbara Wishingrad.  The next step would be a second visit confirming your residence as a workshop site for the course.  This would be done during the third week of July.  We are scheduling second visits this week. The homeowner or property manager would need to be available during these visits as well as the time of the workshop during the week of August 19-28.  I can give you more details and answer any questions in a follow up email or phone call or when we meet in person.

To learn more about the program, please visit our curriculum or program details pages or contact Barbara Wishingrad, Santa Barbara Green Living Co-op Program Manager at bwishingrad@watershedmg.org or 805-403-4566.