Center for Sonoran Desert Studies

Sonoran Studies Public Programs

Rainwater Harvesting Tour

In the Australian Outback everyone does it. In the Sonoran Desert the rain in vain falls mainly down the drain. See how this bounty is harvested at a housing co-op, on neighborhood streets, in urban homes and in a commercial parking lot. Calculate how much water can be collected off of your roof and find out how you can divert and store rainwater through the use of cisterns and earthworks. James MacAdam of the Watershed Management Group will be our the instructor.

The tour will begin with a lecture and slide show at Grace St. Paul's Church at 2331 E. Adams St. We then will travel to several residences where we we will see and discuss the City's greywater ordinance, cisterns, outdoor showers, composting toilets, hillslope vs. flat earthworks, native plantings and elevated pathways. One of the homes that we will visit is the winner of the ADWR/Tucson Botanical Gardens 2009 Xeriscape Contest. At Sonora Co-housing we will discuss integrated, neighborhood-scale design. At the newest NW-side Super Target we will see how the City's recently implemented water harvesting ordinance is playing out in the commercial arena. As we pass through the Dunbar-Springs and Rincon Heights Neighborhoods we will see how water is being harvesting off of the streets, how it is being used to grow vegetation, and how that vegetation is in turn accomplishing traffic calming. Join us for this full day of learning how be a desert dweller!

Dates: Nov 7, 2009 - Nov 7, 2009
Times: 8:00 a.m -3:00 p.m.

Fill out the form below to pay online by VISA or Mastercard, or call 520-883-3086 to pay by check.

* - required field

Fees (Check the appropriate box):
$57 - Non-Member Cost

$52 - Member Cost

Your Name:*


Please list the participant(s) names and ages below:

You will be able to select the number of participants on the next page.

Additional Notes/Comments:


How did you hear about this class/tour?*