Just received info about these free workshops for Petaluma residents:

Transform your thirsty lawn - free workshops

Workshop: Transform Your Thirsty Lawn!

Friday, May 15th, 4pm to 7pm, Free for everyone

Sat/Sun May 16th, 17th 10am to 4pm, * Free for Petaluma Residents, $25 non-residents

In this transformative weekend, we’ll break ground at the Cavanagh Center for Petaluma’s new water savvy demonstration garden.We’ll turn an ordinary city landscape into a water harvesting and conserving food forest, providing food, habitat, inspiration and education.

A Food Forest is a whole system incorporating food plants like berries and tubers between and under a canopy of trees. These dynamic systems attract beneficial insects, build healthy soil, and provide pollination and pest management. They become a haven for wildlife, absorb water, reduce erosion, beautify the land, and provide the perfect environment for engaging neighbors! In this powerful statement about creating a sustainable future NOW, you’ll get inspired about sheet mulching, earthworks, drip irrigation, natural soil amendments and growing techniques. At the Friday evening workshop learn water conserving site design, sheet mulching, earthworks and converting to drip irrigation, and do somehands-on sheet mulching. The Saturday workshop includes a presentation on food forest design, earthworks, sheet mulching and soil building. Sunday is hands-on sheet mulching, earth works and planting.

Very glad to see this type of workshop offered in the Central Petaluma area and especially to enhance the landscaped area around the Cavanaugh Center. Daily Acts is to be truly commended for offering both this service to the City and the potential for water conservation, actual habitat enhancement in that area food production and natural landscapes. If you enjoy this, you may want to stay attuned to the planned habitat restoration, native gardens, community garden and sustainable agriculture planned for the Paula Lane Open Space Preserve, enhancing and transforming a very old rural property on Petaluma's urban-rural fringe. Plans have been evolving for several years and are in alignment with Daily Acts, Petaluma Bounty and other conservation nonprofits...for more info, check out Link.