Water Harvesting Intensive

May 4-6th

Join us for an exciting opportunity in San Diego's back country town of Ramona for a unique hands-on workshop to learn how to transform a house into a sustainable oasis by tapping into rainwater and greywater.

This holistic water harvesting training course will teach people the fundamentals of integrated water design through hands-on activity.  Over the 3 days, participants will design and install:

•        A "Laundry to Landscape" greywater system
•        Two branched drain greywater systems from two bathrooms
•        A 2,500 gallon rainwater harvesting cistern and plan for future expansion
•        A wide range of passive water harvesting earthworks

All of these water harvesting projects will be integrated to provide an edible landscape that works in harmony with both the natural ecology and the home itself. 

Through this training, participants will learn:

•          Best Management Practices for rainwater and greywater harvesting
•          Legal regulations and permitting
•          Best plumbing practices
•          Edible landscape integration
•          Tricks and tools of the trade

This course is for anyone interested in learning how to design water harvesting features into their own landscapes and is ideal for homeowners, contractors, architects, designers, and city and county regulators. No prior experience is necessary. All participants will receive a certificate of completion.

If you have been waiting for one course that will give you an overview of how to install your own legal rainwater harvesting and greywater systems then this is the course for you. By the end of the three days you should have the understanding and confidence to begin to create your own sustainable oasis!

Course Tuition:

We are offering a range of weekend opportunities to people to participate. Due to the more distant location in the county participants can choose to stay on the property for the entire weekend or commute to the site location on a daily basis.

Residential Weekend Experience: Stay on site all weekend if you don't want to commute. Camp in your own tent or share some dorm style indoor space in the house or trailer. Prices include 3 meals a day, nightly campfire and music, and possible movie.   

• Residential (Tent): $350
• Residential (Shared Indoor Dorm Space): $400

Commuter Weekend: If you live nearby or choose to stay at a local hotel and commute daily, we will serve you lunch and snacks.

• Commuter: $300

Single Day: If you can just make the class for a day, no problem. We are offering those who wish to take a single day the opportunity to do so. Includes a healthy lunch and snacks.

• Single Day Tuition: $150

This course will pay for itself and then some with the amount of information each person will learn. Learn how to do things right the first time.

Course Schedule:

Friday

• Introduction to integrated water harvesting
• Water harvesting principles
• Site assessment
• Water budget
• Designing and installing passive water harvesting earthworks

Saturday

Tanks and Cisterns

• Active rainwater harvesting tank and cistern systems
• Tank components (first flush, rain heads, etc)
• Sizing a tank
• Gravity and pump based systems
• Managing overflow

Laundry to Landscape

• Different types of laundry systems
• Components for the "Laundry to Landscape" system
• Installing the system

Sunday

• Overview of whole house greywater systems
• Simple and complex systems
• Branched drain greywater design
• Tools and parts needed
• Designing and installing two branched drain greywater systems

Course Instructors:

Josh Robinson has been teaching, designing, and installing integrated water harvesting systems professionally since 2006 after completing a Master's Degree in Ecological Landscape Design from Prescott College.  He then went on to start the first permaculture based landscaping company in Northern Arizona specializing in integrated water harvesting. During this time his gardens won numerous awards and have been featured in Toby Hemenway's "Gaia's Garden" and Art Ludwig's "Create an Oasis with Greywater."

Before leaving Northern Arizona for the warmer weather of San Diego, Josh worked with the City of Flagstaff to create the city's first rainwater harvesting ordinance.  Flagstaff is one of only a handful of cities to create such a water harvesting ordinance.

In addition to his design and installation work, Josh has actively been teaching people to design their own water harvesting and localized food systems. Josh has taught courses for Northern Arizona University, The Ecosa Institute, Prescott College, Coconino Community College, and numerous private courses throughout the Southwest. He currently is working on a new non-profit organization called "The San Diego Sustainable Living Institute" that seeks to train people on how to transform San Diego into a sustainable and self reliant region.

Brook Sarson is owner and founder of H2OME, San Diego's first rainwater harvesting and greywater recycling installation business. Her mission is to create a local water supply and encourage conservation through appropriate landscaping and simple greywater and rainwater techniques. H2OME offers residents simple, low cost, context-appropriate solutions as a first step in resolving the larger water issues facing San Diego.

In addition to installing dozens of rainwater and greywater systems throughout San Diego, Brook has taught countless classes and workshops in water, soil, and Permaculture throughout San Diego, including at Cuyamaca Water Conservation Garden, multiple Food Justice Conferences, schools, and gardening clubs.

Brook has completed her Permaculture Certification with ECOSA Institute in Prescott, AZ, her Master Composter Certification, as well as having taken the Water Harvesting Certification Course with the Watershed Management Group. Additionally she has interned at Seeds at City, a quarter acre organic, urban farm on the City College campus in the heart of downtown San Diego.  Brook graduated with a B.S. in in Electrical Engineering and a B.S. in Applied Mathematics from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California

Brook is currently an Adjunct Professor as part of the Sustainable Urban Agriculture Program City College and is on the Advisory Boards for Wild Willows Farm and San Diego State Extension Program for Sustainable Landscaping and Water Conservation.  She continues her travels throughout the Southwest U.S., Mexico, and Australia to explore different water harvesting technologies and Permaculture solutions for arid environments