34 New Trees Take Root at Phoenix International Academy – February 2026
Canopy for Kids brought lasting shade and sustainability to Phoenix International Academy by planting 34 new trees on campus. Teachers, Students, volunteers, and community partners came together to dig, plant, mulch and water — turning the school grounds into a greener, more cooler space. As the trees grow, they will serve generations of learners, transforming the campus into a cooler, more vibrant place to learn and play.
Watershed Management Group Co-Wins ASU President’s Award – December 2025
In December 2025, Arizona State University presented its annual President’s Awards to honor campus teams whose work produced significant real-world impact. One of the Social Embeddedness awardees was the Storm Smart Schools, a collaborative effort that included Watershed Management Group alongside the ASU Sustainability Teachers Academy, EcoRise, and other partners. This initiative installed stormwater-harvesting gardens at five Phoenix-area schools, demonstrating practical green infrastructure solutions that help manage water, reduce heat and flooding, and create outdoor learning environments for teachers and students. The award recognizes how WMG’s expertise in rainwater harvesting and community engagement contributed to sustainability education and climate resilience in underserved communities.
Canopy for Kids kicks off in Phoenix – December 2025
With the leadership of the City of Phoenix City, Watershed Management Group is proud to partner with Arizona State University’s Rob and Melani Walton Sustainability Teachers Academy and EcoRise to bring life-saving shade trees and native pollinator gardens to Phoenix school campuses. Through the Canopy for Kids program, we are helping schools create cooler, greener learning environments that support student health, climate resilience, and local ecosystems.
Rain Garden Training with UABCS, La Paz. Mexico – April 2025
With students and community of the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California Sur in La Paz, Mexico we planted the rain in the first training on water harvesting systems with the local university. Participants came from Sonora and Baja California Sur. Great work on harvesting the rain!!
WMG Certifies New Water Harvesters – October 2025
WMG certified 18 participants in the Water Harvesting Design Certification course. The participants accomplished 50 training hours and installed three basins at South Tucson Housing Authority.
Storm Smart Schools at Las Sendas Elementary Mesa – 2024
Las Sendas Elementary was one of five schools in the Phoenix Valley to participate in the Storm Smart Schools program offered by Watershed Management Group and Arizona State University. Students and teachers helped design an outdoor classroom and rain garden with native plants on their campus and with the generous support of the schools Parent Teacher Organization, their design got to come to life! Students participated in a one day workshop helping plant and spread mulch throughout the outdoor classroom.
Four Peaks Build Your Own Basin Workshop – 2022
Over 50 BYOB kits were distributed to participants at the Four Peaks Build Your Own Basin workshop. Attendees learned about the benefits of using native plants in their yard and how to plan and dig a basin as part of a rain garden to to support the plants with rainwater. Kits included a native shade tree, pollinator shrub, bunch grasses and a mix of native wildflower seeds.
Thank you to the River Network for sponsoring and Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe for hosting this workshop for the second year!
Phoenix College beautifies their parking lot with native pollinators and shade trees
WMG and ASU brought the hands-on Storm Smart Schools program to Phoenix College and transformed a hot, bare part of the Phoenix College campus into a vibrant pollinator and shade garden.
Consultations – 2024
In 2024, we installed rain gardens at four schools and in eleven community areas. We distributed over 100 greywater kits to the City of Denver, CO.
Rain Garden Outreach – 2024
In 2024, 559 community members were impacted by our rain garden outreach programs and we distributed 86 rain garden kits, 10.5% of which went to limited income households.
Rainwater & Greywater Classes – 2024
In 2024, over 950 people attended the rainwater harvesting or greywater classes that WMG offers in support of Tucson Water's rebate programs.
