Building Rain Gardens with Barrio Restoration
I helped plant a tree for the first time in my life the other day.
I know, I know. But I’m a city-slicker. Spent a lot of time outdoors in my youth as a Boy Scout. I’m always down to go camping and hiking and backpacking and bushwhacking. But I’ve spent most of my life living in small apartments in big cities. It’s not easy to cultivate plants of any kind when you’re living in a six-story walk-up with three roommates, let alone a tree.
I tried to grow a small herb garden once, and my roommate was furious. He was all “No, you can’t, I’m allergic to cilantro!” and “How did all that dirt get in my room!?” and “What did you do with my bed!?” I figured it was better not to tell him about the mushroom spores in his closet. He’d see them soon enough anyhow.
On Thursday, April 18th, I left work a little early and drove south, down to the Fairgrounds Neighborhood. I arrived at Mariposa Park, and strolled over to the gazebo, where I met David Garcia, a 2023 graduate of the Water Harvesting Design Certification Course, and his wonderful family.
Ever since he earned his certification, David has taken it upon himself to organize and lead his own local community conservation efforts, starting right in his own neighborhood.
“Right after the class was done, I was…I don’t know. Inspired? Motivated? I wanted to DO things with what I learned.” David told me
So he started “guerilla gardening” – that is, quietly, stealthily transforming street corners and sidewalks from undervalued and overgrown trash-collections into beautiful and beneficial rain-gardens. And by stealthily, I mean in broad daylight, with conversation and music playing from his truck speakers, joined by friends and family and neighbors wielding pickaxes and shovels and bags of mulch. Also, he asks the nearby homeowners for their permission first.
See what I mean? Reeeaaal sneaky-like.
Thanks to David and the multitude of volunteers that have joined him over the last six months, including Luis, Joaquin Murrietta, and other WMG staff, nearly a dozen such “Barrio Thursdays” have taken place. They’ve cleaned up trash. Pulled weeds. Painted planters. Dug water-harvesting basins. Planted native trees and shrubs and grasses. And inspired their fellow community members to take conservation efforts into their own hands.
With a little guidance and coaching from Luis Salgado, WMG’s Green Infrastructure Project Manager, our little group of Thursday evening environmentalists cleaned and picked and dug and pulled and placed and planted and watered and, suddenly, we had built a rain-friendly garden where before there had been only dirt and broken glass and wasted water. Individually, it would have proved an arduous task. But working together, we were finished in just a few hours.
And, during that time, I planted a tree. Not a big tree. Not yet, anyhow. But one day it will be. It will provide shade and improve water infiltration and help cool our city. And it will look good doing it, too.
“This is the main sidewalk where the kids walk to school,” David told me as I patted the moist soil around the little sapling. “They all walk over here, from their homes, and then straight on to school. That’s why we’ve done all these projects along this road. But we’re going to keep going. Not just here, but other neighborhoods too. It’s good for everybody.”
It was an honor to be a part of such a fun and fulfilling project, led by someone with passion and surrounded by people who care. It’s these kinds of continued and conscious efforts that make a difference. All of us can do our part to help, and to teach, and to inspire, and to grow. Together, we can make a difference. One guerilla garden at a time.
Want to learn how to build your own rain basin? Check out our super cool "BYOB" Zine, with step-by-step instructions on how to do it. Or come to one of our upcoming events and get your hands dirty alongside like-minded folks.
Let’s get planting.
