Page 54 - Sonoma County gazette September 2018

Fire & Rain: The Role of Rainwater
Harvesting in Watershed Resilience
By Jesse Savou, ARCSA A.P.,
By Date
Sep 1 ~ Saturday Morning Fitness Hikes at Jack London State Historic Park FREE, 10a, Jack London State Historic Park, 2400 London Ranch Road, Glen Ellen, 707-938-5216, jacklondonpark.com
Sep 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 23, 25, 30 ~ Aikido and T’ai Chi - $50 per month or $10 per class, Monte Rio Community Center, 20488 CA-116, Monte Rio, 707-480-0856, Mark De Souza, flowingriveraikido. com, flowingriveraikido@gmail.com
Sep 4, 6 ~ The 3 Myths Causing Your Back Pain - Class includes slide show on posture, lecture, practice and hands- on guidance. FREE, RSVP required 9/4 7-8:30p or 9/6 3-4:30p, Sonoma Body Balance, 210 Vallejo St., Suite C, Petaluma, 707-278-8718, sonomabodybalance.com
The devastating wildfires of last October brought themes of resilience to the forefront in the north bay region. As local communities are in full swing with rebuilding efforts, the smoke-filled air from fires all over northern California— this year on a concerningly-early schedule—once again has nerves on edge with fire trauma so fresh on our local conscience.
Now, as we absorb the effects of fire storming over the watershed,
Environmental issues compound. While fire grabbed our attention in 2017, had we already forgotten the historic six-year drought that preceded it? As the owner of a local rain barrel company (launched in 2012) I witnessed the frenzy to harvest water grow every year as we entered our second, and then third, fourth, and fifth consecutive years of drought. Then in 2016 we had one very wet year, and the urgency to become water stewards seemed to drain away.
While climate change ushers in more extreme swings in temperatures and precipitation, we are left more vulnerable to natural disasters. Environmental stewards point out that California is a fire ecology: Healthy forest succession is defined by cycles of low-intensity fire and regrowth.
Then came the fires.
we have to wonder what we could do better.
But human communities sprout up and understandably don’t want fire in the backyard. We suppress it. We create environments where large browsing mammals can’t coexist and their role in controlling low-burning fuel load
is eliminated. Meanwhile, as natural groundcover is replaced by hardscape (buildings, roadways, parking lots), we’ve built a landscape that’s designed to sheet water away. This is the opposite of rainfall recharging groundwater.
Nutritional Strategies for the Brain, SRJC Older Adults Program FREE, 10-11:30a, 10-11:30a, Sebastopol Regional Library, 7140 Bodega Ave., Sebastopol, 707-823- 7691, sonomacounty.libcal.com
Sep 17 ~ Food as Medicine, Wellness Series - Community Heals, $10 Donation 6:30-8p, Sonoma County Healing Academy, 6741 Sebastopol Ave., Ste. 120-140, Sebastopol, 707-622-6769, communityheals.org
Sep 22 ~ Forest Therapy - Take a walk and experience forest bathing. $20, 9:30a-12:30p, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, 2605 Adobe Canyon Rd, Kenwood,, 707- 833-5712, sugarloafpark.org
Discussion and peer mentorship among people who identify as disabled residing in Sonoma County. FREE, 5-6p, Disability Services and Legal Center, 521 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, 707-528- 2745, mydslc.org
Ongoing ~ Gentle Yoga classes
by Smiling Tree Yoga – With Gail Saunders, CYT of Smiling Tree Yoga. 4 for $50 or drop-in $15 per class. Wednesdays 9– 10:15a, Fridays 3-4:15p. Occidental Center for the Arts, 3850 Doris Murphy Court, 707-874-9392, gail@ smilingtreeyoga.com
Ongoing ~ Walters Water Aerobics at Rio Nido Roadhouse - Workout to music that will make you move. $7, Mon, Wed, Sat, Sun, 9a, Tue, Fri, 6p, 14540 Canyon Two Rd., rionidoroadhouse.com
Songbird Healing Center
8297 Old Redwood Hwy, Cotati, 707-938- 8808, songbirdcenter.org
Sep 3, 10, 17, 24 ~ Native Secrets with Art Runningbear ~ Grounding, meditation, running energy, protection, healing techniques and intuitive reading. FREE; 7:30-9p
Sep 11, 25, ~ Hands of Gold Healing ~ Try out different healing modalities and find the healers that resonate with you. This is a community where you can exper. $15-$40 No one is turned away; 7:30-9p,
Sep 4, 11, 18, 25, ~ Feldenkrais for Back Pain - Gentle lessons to guide you towards sitting, moving and walking with comfort and ease. $15 per class, $40 for 4.
Without knowing any better, we have created an environment that is highly vulnerable to drought and fire.
But do we know better? During each year of drought, more community members became engaged in water conservation, and beyond that, true watershed stewardship. Motivation was high to harvest the water that falls
Thru Sep 7 ~ Girls on the Run - 3rd-8th Grade - Twice per week, girls will have fun, make friends, increase their physical activity levels and learn important life skills. No one turned away. $45-$175, 707-938-8544, bgcsonoma.org
Sep 8 ~ Yoga Hike - A mix of hiking and gentle yoga postures, breath work and guided meditation. No mat necessary., $20, 9:30a-12p, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, 2605 Adobe Canyon Rd, Kenwood, Susan Topf, susan@buildyourpeace.com
on our roofs – a measure that helps even out the peaks and valleys between wet and dry spells and allows our landscapes to mimic nature’s pattern of infiltration – a vital link in the hydrologic cycle.
Sep 26 ~ Disability Support Group
Simply put, if the living, breathing “skin” of our earth (soil) is all covered up, it can’t perform the vital ecosystem service of infiltrating water. That
water instead sheets over roadways, through storm drains, and is delivered to local waterways in overwhelming quantities as polluted runoff. The ground underneath, on the other hand, remains parched. And like an overdrawn bank account, water levels in our reservoirs and aquifers keep dropping.
Sep 6, 20, ~ Healthy Living at your Library
How much water are we really talking about? Every inch of rain that falls on a 1,000 square-foot roof translates to over 620 gallons of high- quality water. A home of 2,500 square feet will generate nearly 50,000 gallons of water per average year. In a severe drought year (with only half the average precipitation) that’s 25,000 gallons from that same rooftop.
If stored, that water is a resource providing free irrigation water. Bring fire into the discussion and we highlight even more benefits. Keeping plants and soils hydrated makes landscapes more resistant to fire. And beyond resistance, there’s downright emergency preparedness. I have customers who used their stored rainwater to wet down their roof and garden as the fire approached. In other emergencies, rainwater makes a great backup drinking water source.
Consider rainwater harvesting when you think of about how to cultivate resilience and become a watershed steward at your own home and community.
Sep 14, 28 ~ Family Yoga with Ozlem FUNDING: City of Santa Rosa Rainwater Harvesting Rebate offers $0.25 FREE 11a, Guerneville Regional
per gallon of storage capacity: srcity.org/DocumentCenter/View/6847
The local Resource Conservation Districts (RCDs) fund rainwater harvesting
Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, 707-869-9004
projects for rural properties in the County.
North Coast Resource Conservation & Development Council supports
Sep 14,28 ~ Adult Yoga with Ozlem
school projects through their Rain Catchers Program.
For fire re-builders, the City of SR, Sonoma County Water Agency, and
FREE, 1p, Guerneville Regional Library, 14107 Armstrong Woods Rd, Guerneville, 707-869-9004
Daily Acts will be offering a free workshops in October for fire victims who want to incorporate rainwater harvesting in their re-build plans. The date is not set yet, but it will likely be an evening in October.
Sep 14 ~ Flu Shot Clinic - 12-2p, Free for Medicare Part B Card Carriers, $30 for all others, Person Senior Wing - Finley Community Center, 2060 West College Ave., Santa Rosa, facebook.com/ events/1638205779610171/
Want to learn more? Contact Jesse at BlueBarrelSystems.com
54 - www.sonomacountygazette.com - 9/18