Building Bioswales for Water Conservation

  • Location
    Northridge, California
  • Status
    Active

The Problem

Our school is built on a hill and we observed a lot of runoff being wasted: it flows down the hillside (bypassing our garden), into the parking lot to a storm drain. We want to build 3 bioswales to help capture the water and hold it for growing edible plants. We hope to educate others about the importance of catching rainwater in an urban setting. We also hope to expand our school garden with minimal irrigation.

Our Plan

We are building 3 bioswales to catch the runoff that is bypassing our school garden. These swales will be planted with nitrogen-fixing plants to build up the depleted soil. Hopefully we'll be catching lots of water from upcoming El Nino events (fingers crossed!) Next we will plant a mix of annuals and perennials in the downslope berms. Eventually, we would like to include plant fruit trees.

Themes Addressed

  • term icon
    Clean Water
  • term icon
    Community Enhancement

The Benefit

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