Sharing my passion with the next generation

I always enjoy sharing my knowledge about sustainability with the next generation. So I was especially excited to give a tour of our rainwater basins to my son Jeremy's girlfriend Lillie, a civil engineering major with an emphasis on the environment. Can Jeremy pick 'em or what?!!! Jeremy tagged along to find out which plants to water when Dan and I go away on vacation. He took some photos while he was at it. Thanks, Jeremy! 

Our first stop was filling up my water bucket at the slimline tank. I explained how we get a lot of rainwater off of the roof (nearly 11,000 gallons a year.) Some of that water is directed from a gutter to a downspout and into our jujube basin. Gutters also direct water to the various cisterns around the house. 

I was delighted to share how the nearby jujube trees had grown three feet last year on just rainwater collected in the basin. And they were starting to bear the first fruit of the season. Even after this long dry spell! 

I had recently chopped and dropped some dried native plants (that some people might call "weeds") into the basin to create organic mulch. That observation inspired this story. Five years ago, Dan had removed a row of aging oleanders and dug a basin there for three baby jujube trees. The one planted farthest from where the oleanders were grew four times as fast as the two planted in the soil poisoned by the oleanders. But native grasses, organic matter (chopped weeds and fallen leaves) and rainwater mitigated the soil, so now the other two trees have caught up with the biggest tree!

The next stop was our shallow front yard basins. (See the pic at the top of the page.) The wood chip mulch has mostly broken down into soil. (We need another truck load.) So a bunch of poppies and native grasses grew there. When they died, I broke the stems of the poppies into hay-like mulch and left the dried grass (that had gone to seed) to feed the ants, birds and squirrels. 

Doves eating grass seeds in the shade of a desert acacia tree by the PLANTS FOR BIRDS sign.

Here I am pointing out the bird bath in the mesquite guild. (It is so important to provide daily water for the birds - especially in this heat!) The mesquite tree acts as a nurse plant providing shade and nitrogen for the nearby hackberry and a young saguaro. Notice that even during this dry spell, the native trees are green and thriving.

Next we visited the right of way basin where our moringa is coming back nicely after dying back in the hard freeze. Lillie gamely tasted the leaves of the nutritious "horseradish plant." 

Then I filled up my watering can and watered our flowering hibiscus plant that we recently planted in the greywater basin. There it benefits from greywater from our outdoor washing machine. The drought tolerant heritage pomegranate in the basin was also bearing fruit! It's always good to have that extra washing machine water for higher water-use plants like fruit trees.

I pointed out how the big slanted roof on the neighbors house had directed so much water into our yard that it had dissolved a wooden shed. Our kind neighbor gave Dan permission to install a gutter there to direct rainwater into a cistern to water our little garden. 

Jeremy followed me and Lillie into our fenced-in garden where he took this picture of his loved ones and learned that I use one watering can full of water on our little veggie garden. 

Lillie learned that the Palo Verde trees shade the garden from our hot summer sun and provide nitrogen to the soil. Bird netting cages keep the squirrels out of the chard (that grows year-round here.) And we use our dirty dishwater (with salt free soap) to moisten our compost pit. Every drop of water is precious in the desert.

It was so fun sharing my passion with Lillie and Jeremy. Can't wait to see what the next generation does... 

Continue our tour of my favorite places to bring visitors here:

https://www.sustainablelivingtucson.com/2024/05/my-favorite-places-in-tucson-to-bring.html

Share the love! Join our campaign and show your friends the joys of rainwater harvesting basins.

Just post a pic of your basin with the hashtag #lovemyrainbasin

https://www.sustainablelivingtucson.com/2023/04/love-my-rain-basin-campaign.html

#lovemyrainbasin

Preparing the Soil for "ReGeneration: The Tucson Story"

art by Rihanna Gayle 

I click the link - Join with Computer Audio - like I've done numerous times while recording my virtual play ReGeneration: The Tucson Story. But this time there is a class full of teenage art students waiting behind their Zoom windows for me to be let in. Their teacher, Amy Wood from Sky Islands High School, introduces me. I scramble to recall what I had planned to say to inspire them to create art work for my play - starting with the story of why I decided to take on this ambitious project. I recount how I used to take my kids to the pool every summer afternoon to cool off from the hot Tucson sun. Inevitably we would end up waiting in the car until the monsoon storm had passed. But as the boys grew up, I began to notice that it didn't rain as often as it used to. I began to worry. What if Josh and Jeremy decided to stay in Tucson? Would there be enough water?

Then an event happened that changed our lives.  One fine fall morning, my husband Dan peddled off to enjoy Watershed Management Group’s Homescape Harvest Tour clasping a map of some yards that the co-op had worked on. When Dan got home, all sweaty and out of breath, he rushed me out the door to see some exciting examples of rainwater harvesting. I was especially blown away by WMG’s Living Lab and Learning Center where every plant on the property, including some fruit trees, were irrigated with stormwater. They weren’t using any city water! Docents explained how there was enough stormwater to fill every Tucsonan’s needs if we all “planted the rain.” Finally! A practical solution to making Tucson water secure!

 

For the last seven years, Dan and I learned everything we could about rainwater harvesting and sustainable living. He became a member of their co-op, spending every free weekend digging catchment basins in people's yards to sink in the rain and installing big water barrels to collect runoff from rooftops to irrigate native plants. I blogged about our adventures (and misadventures) in transitioning our own yard into a desert food forest.

Then we realized that despite our best efforts most Tucsonans still hadn't heard of rainwater harvesting. We needed to reach beyond our little Facebook bubble. That's why I wrote the play - to reach out to those who would be the most impacted by climate change - particularly young adults. Like those in Ms. Wood's art classes. We needed their help to make sure our play appealed to their generation. Fortunately, the students embraced the challenge and went to work creating the art that opens many of the scenes. We're thrilled to have them on our team.

art by Aiunae Thompson 

ReGeneration: The Tucson Story is about a diverse group of teens who bring their communities together to save Tucson as the climate disaster progresses. The cool part is that it was presented by a diverse group of teens inspired to share sustainable solutions.

To reach the teen audience, I needed to make sure that the dialogue reflected the way they speak. This was an issue because it had been a while since my boys were teens. A high school English teacher agreed to have her students look over the dialogue when they got back from Spring Break. Then COVID struck.

I continued to work on the script after my screenwriting group critiqued it. I was painfully aware that while the pandemic may have stalled my efforts, it certainly had not slowed down climate change. I decided that it was time to contact high schools and theater companies about producing the play. But they had problems of their own. Teachers were struggling to adapt to virtual classes. Local theater companies were working on ways to stay relevant. There was no time to read a play from an unknown playwright. However, in the problem was the solution. Drama teachers and theater companies started producing virtual (Zoom) plays. That was it! Inspired by their productions, I decided to produce a virtual reading of my play.

It was time for a leap of faith. I started a search for the diverse cast of 16. A friend introduced me to a drama teacher. She announced it to her class. I finally got a response from a bright young actress, Itzel Macias. She convinced a couple of friends from drama club, Ariel Cheng and Andrew Trever, to audition. They impressed me with their talent and enthusiasm! I cast them all. They were instrumental in getting this production off the ground becoming the first members of Team ReGeneration. 

Andrew Trever, who plays Alex, wrote in his bio: “I joined the ReGeneration project because as a young Latinx person it spoke volumes to me to be able to work with such a diverse cast and to be able to talk about a subject that affects me and the very town I call home.”

I strongly believe that our diverse communities need to work together on sustainable solutions if we want to lessen the impact of climate change. That theme is woven throughout the play. It was important that those voices be as authentic as possible. So I researched Tohono O’odham and LatinX cultures. To make sure I was respectful of their traditions, I had members of those communities give me feedback and incorporated their suggestions into the script. I made a concerted effort to cast the main characters with actors of the correct ethnicity. That was a challenge. After an exhaustive search for the Latino brothers, I finally spotted a PSA with a young man who looked right for the part of Rogelio. I tracked Eduardo Rodriguez down on Facebook and asked him if he would be interested in being in my play. I waited with anticipation as he read the script. He got back to me after a few days. Said he was fascinated with the sustainability aspects of the play. But it was the characters’ relationships that kept him turning the pages! He was definitely interested in the part. Only... one thing... he was a Pima Community College graduate. Somehow I managed to convince him that he could play 14 year old Rogelio. And I was right. It was fun watching his transformation!

As difficult as it was finding the young Latino actors, I knew I had a bigger challenge ahead - finding a Tohono O’odham actress to play Ha:san. Then it happened... a little miracle...I discovered a short video by a young Tohono O’odham woman who lives on the reservation near Sells. We connected on Facebook. I was so blessed to have Tierra Domingo in our production. We worked together to make sure her character and the T.O. traditions were presented accurately and respectfully. She even recruited her little sisters for the storytelling scene – all donned in their traditional Tohono O’odham dresses! Tierra recently shared her experience in her tribe’s newspaper, The Runner. Her dress inspired this drawing from Sisiki Bidelman-Owens, one of the art students from Sky Islands High School.

I am so proud of the talented and hardworking young actors who also contributed as the assistant director, stage manager, promoters, technical support and artists. We held all of the rehearsals and production meetings online. There were certainly challenges with using a virtual medium and a steep learning curve for me. But it was fun to work with this creative group of young people to find solutions. The teens were masters at coming up with blocking and using props in the limited space. Even separated in their individual Zoom frames you can see the comradery. They were also my advisers. When I was struggling with finding the balance between using authentic street dialogue and being culturally respectful, they shared valuable insights. They taught me how to be a better director and communicator. And I think they learned a thing or two. Throughout the rehearsal process, the teens discovered sustainability practices like rainwater harvesting and regenerative gardening. During the Q & A at our virtual premiere, some shared what they learned. Andrew said he's thinking of growing a garden! Plans are in the works for Tierra to speak at Ha:san Prep, a Tohono O'odham school here in Tucson.

photo by Javier Castillo

Speaking of the Q & A... There is another member of the panel I want to introduce. I was looking for an artist who could bring a teen audience to our virtual premiere and a friend recommended R3D. To be honest, I wasn't sure if he even wrote the kind of lyrics I needed. There were no songs about the environment or climate action on his page. The closest thing I found was a music video about the police inspired by what had happened over the summer called "Land of the Privileged." But when I pointed out that he still had eight days left to write a new song for the premiere, he took up the challenge. He wrote "Our World" super fast, in two days. I asked him why he was interested in this project and he responded, "I’m all about cleaning the earth. Saving the planet, we live in it and we must keep where we live clean. I also want my kids, kids, kids to have a better future but it starts with us. Therefore our kids will learn and continue to keep Earth clean so their kids future will be brighter than ours."

Listen in as R3D performs his new song, "Our World" and joins Tierra, Andrew, and Itzel on the Q & A at our fun-filled virtual premiere of ReGeneration; The Tucson Story now available on Youtube.

People are always inquiring why more young people aren't involved in our sustainability community. Sometimes they just need the opportunity to share what they love. Prepare the soil and plant the rain. Invite them to the garden. And watch them grow.  

More ideas on engaging the next generation here. 

Engaging the Next Generation

OK. I realize that my enthusiasm for sustainability sounds like the ramblings of Charlie Brown's teacher to my teenage son. (Perhaps a bit more strident...)

My boys squawk at the idea of carrying out the rinse water to irrigate our edible plants. In their defense, they weren't raised in a sustainable household. During my past marriage, we did some half-hearted recycling and that was as far as it went.

So how do you get apathetic teens interested in sustainable living? Looking back at my youth, I recall how I absolutely HATED picking green beans on my Nana's farm. But her legacy lovingly hangs over me as I tend my own little desert garden. So who knows? There may be hope for my boys.

A teachable moment presented itself when Dan and I had to go away for a long weekend. The boys generously agreed to water our yard and garden while we were away. I took the opportunity to not only give them directions, but to explain - in detail - why we do what we do. They seemed a little distracted at the time. Josh was texting his girlfriend... But we came home to thriving plants. (And a pile of dog shit, but that's another story.) I'm not sure this had much of an impact on their lives - yes, I'm still the one taking out the sink water - but hopefully it planted the seeds. Joshua admitted later that he had actually enjoyed being out in nature. Jeremy shared a story on how he saw a scruffy coyote staring hungrily at the squirrels on the other side of our garden fence. (Yes, those are the same squirrels that perch on the back wall ready to pounce on my beloved tomatoes the minute they turn red.) Of course, I'm glad the little critters are alright!

Recently, another opportunity to reach my youngest son presented itself. Since graduating high school, Jeremy has been doggedly pursuing his passion for stand-up comedy. He hits a different open mic every night. I found a way to use this interest to get him to research sustainable principles. I invited him to MC Sustainable Tucson's impromptu storytelling activity "Tales of the Future" at our tent at Discover Local Day. He has to come up with four sample stories on the theme of "Tucson's sustainable future." Sure, this is nepotism. But it's worth it. I am so proud of him for rising to the challenge. He may never become another Brad Lancaster, but he has already come up with some pretty funny shit.

Yes, sometimes it's discouraging that more teens aren't getting on board with fighting climate change (UA Students for Sustainability and Compost Cats are exceptions.) But this success with Jeremy inspired me to reach out to other teens by taking advantage of their personal interests.

The Sustainable Tucson organizing team needed to come up with some activities for our tent at Discover Local Day. After participating in Living Streets Alliance's community hearings on Complete Streets, I was inspired to do an activity on "Planning your Neighborhood." Instead of just taking a crack at it myself, I invited Changemaker High School art students to design and make it. Their principal was delighted that the students would learn about complete, walkable streets while honing their critical thinking skills. Last night at their open house, one of the students, Jasmine, excitedly showed off her work on the project. Gotta admit that made my day! 

So how did this little experiment in engaging our teens turn out?

I'm eternally grateful to Jasmine for planning the street map. (One less thing I had to do!) The students used the neighborhood around their school as inspiration. Four guys painted houses, businesses, streets and the Swan Wash on the tabletop. It turned out to be more difficult than first imagined. The paint wouldn't stick to the plastic coating.  But the students solved the problem by taking off the plastic coating.

There were also challenges with making the movable pieces. The class tried small wooden squares cut to scale with the street map. They were too tiny to paint on! They eventually used a set of children's building blocks (not painted to scale.) To be honest, not all of the Changemaker art students got into to the "Planning Your Neighborhood" project.  They had their own projects. But I'm proud of the ones who worked on it. It wasn't an easy task!

So how did my little act of nepotism work out? Immediately after being hired to MC our storytelling tent, Jeremy went off to his room to brainstorm ideas. He was inspired to write a couple of stories right away. He patiently listened as I shared sustainable principles.  He read my story prompts (as promised) and came up with more ideas. He was actually a delight to work with. He even brainstormed some ideas with me.  I gave him the idea to use the lion character he had developed for a speech and debate competition. He ran with it. He came up with a hilarious story about a mountain lion escaping from the Desert Museum when the power goes out.

I'm so glad I asked Jeremy to MC. I think it was good for our relationship! Jeremy had an excellent attitude. He even agreed to help out as needed.  On the morning of the event, a groggy Jeremy got up and helped (a little) in loading the van.  When I needed more signs, he drew them.

Discover Local Day (October 14th) 

The day started off slow. There wasn't enough foot traffic at our location behind the Tucson Museum of Art to gather much of an audience for storytelling - despite my miked announcement of Mayor Rothschild's participation.  But Jeremy took the storytelling stage and introduced him. The Mayor gamely shared the city council's efforts to make Tucson more sustainable - including how the park bond would include safe bike paths.

Changemaker's "Design Your Neighborhood" activity was well received. It was a good vehicle for educating participants on complete streets and water-harvesting features. I also used it to lure audience members into our storytelling tent. While families played, I asked the parents if their children liked stories about lions. Then I made Jeremy tell his mountain lion story for them. He must have told that story five times! Sustainable Tucson member Stuart Moody joined in by telling stories suited for kids.

Later in the day, there were a couple of magic moments when community members joined our volunteers in the audience. There was a real sense of community as people listened to each other and responded with stories of their own.

Tactical Urbanism Block Party (October 20th)

When we arrived at  Sixth Avenue and Seventh Street, there were volunteers of all ages painting the intersection bright colors. It was an amazing sight! 

Jasmine, from Changemaker High School, showed up just in time to help us set up the tent. She was indispensable! We spent most of the morning tying down everything to secure it against the wind.  A resourceful volunteer from Living Street Alliance brought by plastic donation buckets filled with water to weigh down the corners of the tent. When the wind blew them over, we filled them up with soil that Tank's Green Stuff had generously donated. We taped paper on the table, so the kids would have a place to draw that wouldn't fly away. When we finally got everything secured, Jasmine demonstrated the "Design Your Neighborhood" activity. She did a great job representing her school and Sustainable Tucson. 

After the event, Jasmine asked me to let her know about the next Sustainable Tucson meeting. She might have some other students who would be interested in attending.  I learned an important lesson -  if we want more teens involved, we need to make an effort to engage them. Then show support by showing up.  It is so worth it. 

More Information: 

Changemakers show us the way.

I worked with youth on a virtual reading of my play, "ReGeneration: The Tucson Story."  Read about the process here. 

Teachable moment for the boys

Changemakers show us the way.

Luis Perales beaming with pride that the Changemaker students' proposal was accepted.

When Luis Perales, CEO of Changemaker High School, invited me to meet with him to see how we could help each other, I had no idea what he wanted to talk about. Perhaps a status report on the doc Evan and I were making on water harvesting? It had been awhile since our initial meeting to see how we might include the incredible work Changemaker High was doing in the documentary. After a warm greeting, Luis asked me how I was doing. The great thing is - he really wanted to know. He had seen the frantic posts on my facebook page since Trump announced his intention to remove regulations protecting our water, and he was concerned that I might burn out. And to be honest, I have been stressing out. It seems like every day Trump is making another assault on the environment or human rights. And here Luis was offering support as a fellow sustainability advocate.

WMG coop workshop or "Where's Dan?"

If you’ve read our blog you know how passionate Dan and I are about restoring our aquifer through rainwater harvesting. As more states experience droughts like ours, there will be more competition for the Colorado River water that we all rely on. So it is urgent that we set up water harvesting in as many yards as possible. So, while I’ve blogged about water harvesting, Dan has spent his time digging catchment basins in other people’s yards (along with Watershed Management Group’s fabulous coop), helping maintain the desert landscaping and water harvesting features at Ward 6 and WMG’s Living Lab, giving tours of the Living Lab, and setting up a system to monitor it. 

While I’m thrilled that Dan has dedicated himself to advancing watershed management, it’s also kinda frustrating. With all of his volunteer work, Dan hasn’t had much time left to install our own water harvesting features. Last weekend he finally got around to planting a little mesquite tree in the front yard. And most people don’t have the expertise to work on their own yards, so they have to rely on a few experts. This creates what Luis calls the bottleneck effect – where you have to wait to get the work done. And, as far as I’m concerned, it isn’t getting done fast enough. 

Proposal shows catchment basins and berms in the flood plain

So I was really jazzed when Luis shared the plans Changemaker students had developed for restoring the floodplain in the Naylor neighborhood near their High School. They didn’t wait around for the experts to advise them. Students and educators became experts themselves -  alongside community members and environmental allies that were willing to share knowledge. How empowering is that?!!! 

Envisioning how lush the desert park will be

Luis Perales describes it best:

“The Swan Wash Bridge Project was initiated by a group of students who were challenged by their science instructor to take on a citizen science project that would have a positive impact in the local community. The group of students decided to focus their energies on alleviating a flooding problem that existed up the street from school and adjacent to a local park. The problem of flooding stemmed from the blockage of a neighborhood waterway, Swan Wash, by another local school. This problem was identified by the students because they had experienced the flooding first hand. This experience led them to conduct a root cause analysis, collect data from local community residents, and propose possible solutions. Their project findings were presented to the school, to the local neighborhood association, to local political leaders, and to audiences at local and national conferences. In short, the group of students along with their science instructor became mini experts on the issue of local flooding and the local wash. Their proposed solution was to create a pedestrian footbridge over the wash and to capture some of the flood water in roadside rainwater catchment basins. These basins are intended to utilize rainwater to support the needs of bird/pollinator gardens.”

The students presented their proposal to the Pima County Neighborhood Reinvestment Board on May 2, 2016. The recommendation to fully fund the project to the tune of $229,000 was announced on July 1, 2016! They got the final approval on their revised proposal on the day I was there! Needless to say, Luis’ enthusiasm was contagious!

While I fumble around trying to get the word out about water harvesting, these kids are demonstrating how important it is. They are educating the city of Tucson about transitioning from the current form of water management - flood control - to one that restores our floodplains and groundwater by directing the rainwater with berms and sinking it in with catchment basins. As their project progresses and succeeds, it will be used as a model for other schools to work with their communities on sustainable solutions.

All of this came out of Changemakers’ mission to change the face of education by creating the conditions where young people can turn their ideas into action. Through their example, they hope to create a culture where schools everywhere take on the responsibility of improving their communities. Perales explained, "Imagine what our communities would look like if every school would adopt their local community within a one to three mile radius. Imagine for a second that the school and its resources not only worked within their own gates to teach students to read, write, and do math, but with equal importance, taught students the skills necessary to transform the look, feel, and potential of their community."

Swan Wash Bridge Project Team: Adilene, Alejandra, Victoria, & Mrs. Snook (Missing, Laynah.)

I am so grateful to the Changemaker students for taking the initiative and advancing more sustainable water management as a practical solution for their community. And for giving me hope for the future.

Watch their video of their project. 

The video highlights the journey that Changemaker High School took to engage the Naylor Community to bring about infrastructure repair and beautification for Belvedere Boulevard and SWAN Wash Park. The process was multi-year and included students, staff, parents, community residents, local agencies, and government officials. This project is an embodiment of Changemaker Education and the mission of Changemaker High School.

SWAN Wash Project Story