Empowering communities to practice sustainability in their own backyard is a cornerstone of TreePeople’s values. So in the spirit of celebrating our roots this month, we partnered with L.A. City Councilmember Felipe Fuentes for #SustainableSaturday at Pacoima City Hall where we hosted a free rainwater harvesting workshop for San Fernando Valley residents. Twenty-five locals attended to learn rainwater capture solutions to use in their yards with the help of rain chains, rain barrels and down spout extensions.
“TreePeople assisted participants in assessing their properties for rainwater capture opportunities and gave hands-on demonstrations on installing rain barrels and rain chains, “ said Councilmember Fuentes. “Through these workshops, I’m showing the community that eating and growing healthy foods is accessible and attainable!”
Fuentes and his family graciously joined us, and our Northeast Valley Regional Manager, Pamela Gibson, offered teachings in both English and Spanish. We also raffled off three rain barrels, a rain chain and six downspout extensions to help people get started on their home projects.
Pamela shared she hopes these workshops can provide easily implemented tools for the people that attend. “My goal is for them to do something that’s affordable and accessible,” she said.
Fuentes’ aim is to transform his office as a hub for the local community to empower them to make their neighborhood a model of a vibrant, green and healthy space. We salute him for his dedication and passion for connecting so intimately with his community and for encouraging them to take personal responsibility for the environment.
As we enter our fourth year of drought, it is our vision to help residents be better prepared for the drier climate to come. With the recent passage of Proposition 1, there’s support from the Capitol for a sustainable water strategy, nevertheless the change must start with us all in our homes. We aim to offer more workshops to help guide Angelenos in other city districts with easy ways to contribute to a drought-smart L.A. Rainwater collection is a great place to begin to give our landscape some much needed relief. It will rain this winter, even if only a little. Let’s make every drop count!