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Wasted run off water from Tuscon Arizona streets can be redirected on site to produce ecologically friendly shade and fruit trees and even vegetables residents can eat says world renowned permaculture designer and expert Geoff Lawton at his release of his free training for greening streets in an ecologically sensitive way.
More information available at http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/80351-regreening-the-urban-streetscape
One of the challenge in desert areas like Southern Arizona is growing shade trees for the city and the suburbs without using high cost ground water and irrigation water.
In a new video on dryland water harvesting Australian permaculture designer Geoff Lawton interviews local Tuscon Arizona resident Brad Lancaster who has a proven system for redirecting water that would normally run off the street into garden and tree planting basins on the side of the road. These beds carefully designed, mulched and planted require no additional irrigation and provide shade and even food to people living in the neighbourhood.
Lawton says this system can and should be used in any dryland area with hard roads to save and use valuable rainwater and to create tree cover for the harsh desert climate. Lawton says the trees and vegetation in these areas can serve multiple different functions from shade to food to a refuge for birds and other small wildlife.
Lawton says this run off water is currently going to waste literally going down the drain when it could be bringing shade, life and food security to the city and the suburbs.
The main keys to making an effective basin for harvesting this rainwater are to make a planting basin that’s lower than the street level so run off water will run into the basin. The inlet for the basin, normally cut out of the road kerb also serves an outlet allowing water to flow down the road to the next basin once the first basin is full. This avoids fast flowing water in the basin and the loss of mulch.
Designed well Lawton says planted and mulched basins on street sides are self maintaining meaning they require no serious labor input beyond setting them up and occasionally pruning the trees and putting the clippings straight back into the basin as mulch.
Lawton is so committed to helping more dryland areas use this method of harvesting road water he has made his full video on the topic available free at the link above.
Release ID: 86158