For those of you who live in Sonoma County, and are plant lovers like us…if you don’t know about Jail Industries – you must read this blog!

Entrance Sign

The Sonoma County Jail Industries program is a partnership with the Sheriff’s Department and the Sonoma County Office of Education.  The purpose of the program is to ”train inmates to grow and nurture over 200 varieties of plants from seedlings to large 24″ box trees. In the process the inmates gain self-esteem and employable skills.”  The National Tree Trust and School Environmental  Education Docents also participate with the program.   If you haven’t been to one of the open plant sales that the Jail Industries program hosts, check out this link:  http://www.sonoma-county.org/jailindustries/plantsale.htm.  The sales happen two times a year in April and October.  But you may also make an appointment with Instructor Rick Stern by calling (707) 525-8310 or emailing jailind@mcn.org.

There are over three acres of ornamental plants for sale that equates to approximately 2,000 fifteen-gallon trees, 7,000 five-gallon trees and room for 40,000 one-gallon plants and trees. There are 1,000 flats of various annual plants.  And all of these plants are for sale at (usually) less than wholesale prices, but especially below retail prices.  Even if you are planning a small landscape remodel, it is well worth it to check out this program.  Mr. Stern has produced an amazing program at the North County Detention Center and the community needs to know about this wonderful resource!  To learn more, please visit this link:  http://www.sonoma-county.org/jailindustries/index.htm

As a past candidate for Santa Rosa City Council in November (I ceased my campaign in late September for a myriad of reasons) and a person who has had to learn a lot about Measure Q in Santa Rosa (District Elections), I found the article linked below to be a perfect example of how to make our communities BETTER!  A quote from the article:  “We need to get better at community outreach and engagement because we still have a lot of traction to gain at the local level.” (http://bettercities.net/article/want-better-communities-engage-them-better-19084)

Also, as someone who has attended many public meetings (for projects, to show support or opposition) without any cause but to be a part of my COMMUNITY, the author also says “Show up. Don’t wait for a meeting, or an invitation, or for someone else who was going to arrange a conversation. Call them now, meet them now…”  Our community members, YOU, need to get engaged.  Why, you may ask?  Because you don’t want to be on the receiving end of something that you don’t agree with.  Many times, our community only pulls together for certain, specific issues – that is not community.  It is responding to an issue because of great like or dislike – yes during that time you may meet your neighbors and continue a relationship, but, what I have found to be ever so successful is community engagement.  Be ENGAGED in your community through neighborhood meetings, community meetings, public meetings, etc.  Don’t just wait for something to smack you across the face after it has already been approved.

There are many ways to do so, and I’ll list some ideas for our local community (Santa Rosa), but the City you live in should have very similar resources for you to learn about:

Community Engagement:  http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/departments/cityadmin/communityengagement/Pages/default.aspx

Email Newsletters: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/CASANTA/subscriber/new?topic_id=CASANTA_75&pop=t (Santa Rosa)

Public Meetings:  http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/government/Pages/default.aspx

Neighborhood Groups (where is your neighborhood?): http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/departments/cityadmin/communityengagement/Pages/Neighborhoods.aspx

Join a Board or Commission:  http://ci.santa-rosa.ca.us/government/boards/Pages/default.aspx

To close, a better community starts with YOU!  In order to be a vibrant, active, engaged community, the community needs YOU!  Get involved!

The Press Democrat’s article today about Sudden Oak Deaths in Northern California, but especially in Marin, Sonoma and Mendocino is especially alarming!  The quick rise in deaths of trees, without any knowledge of how the pathogen was brought to or originated from and no knowledge of how to stop the pathogen or to treat the pathogen.  For any horticulturalists, landscape architects, biologists, large property owners - this is truly alarming!

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20121010/WIRE/121019977

What can you do?

There are a number of volunteer groups in our communities that do an annual survey of randomly selected Bay Trees (which are thought to be the host to the pathogen that then gets passed on to the oak trees).   The major event is the SOD Blitz, where groups all over the Bay Area survey trees for signs of infection.

Also, when walking in native or urban areas where you know there is SOD, sanitize your clothes, shoes, etc.  The air-borne pathogen clings to cloth, shoes, etc. and you could potentially pass the pathogen to an uninfected area.

Learn more about Sudden Oak Death.  This website is a great reference:  http://www.suddenoakdeath.org/

At Firma Design Group, we know there is a steady increase in peoples’ desire to conserve water – for the good of the environment, but also for realization of cost savings that are pretty easy to do!  We are currently working on numerous corporate campus and corporate office building projects that area all try to get rid of their large expanses of ornamental turf and put in drought tolerant, low-water use and low-maintenance plans.  It is a trend and we are at the forefront of the trend – with our experience, but also with our design innovations.

The following is an excerpt out of an article published in “Water Efficiency” magazine.  The image to the right, I thought was very interesting and wanted to include it here.

Scott Thompson, project manager at Irrigation Management Systems (IMS), Portland, OR, agrees that universities tend to show a higher commitment to conservation, but he adds that landscape can often play a role in a corporation’s public image.

“We have some large properties like Nike and large business parks,” says Thompson, “and they put a lot of money into their landscaping and want to look great, yet still conserve water.”

IMS manages Nike’s irrigation system with Rain Bird’s Maxicom2, central control system. It allows the monitoring and irrigation of many different parcels of property or landscaped sites from a single computer-accessed controller. The Nike campus comprises more than 150 acres, but Thompson observes that intelligent irrigation is no longer limited to big grounds with big budgets.

“Smaller commercial areas are finding it affordable to upgrade their controllers,” he says, “and with rising water costs, especially in California, these businesses are much more interested in conserving water.”

There are many ways that your corporate facility could save water, with little effort – one of them being install a SMART irrigation controller that uses EvapoTranspiration (ET) data to adjust the irrigation times and quantities.  Please contact us with any questions about your facility.

Have you been watching the Olympics?

Well, everything that you see when watching the Olympics has been designed by a local landscape architect, George Hargraves.  His firm, Hargraves & Associates, is based in San Francisco, but he lives in Santa Rosa most of the time!  Landscape architects have the capability to design massive and complete parks, campuses, universities, cities and towns.  Our background allows us to be comprehensive and sensitive to the existing features and environment.

I have watched a lot of the Olympics, and his design is pretty amazing – viewing it from the sky, or as you walk along the pathways, the design has been successfully implemented!

Take a look at the Press Democrat article from last Sunday!

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120805/ARTICLES/208051034

Please don’t hesitate to contact Firma Design Group for your planning, civil engineering or landscape architecture needs!  We are vying to design the Olympic Park in 2020 in either Istanbul, Tokyo or Madrid – we’re voting for Istanbul, Turkey!

I received an email yesterday from the Town of Windsor talking about their Efficiency PAYS program.  Now, I don’t normally just copy and paste an entire email in this blog, but, after reading what they have done to encourage conservation in water and energy – I was impressed!  This program basically eliminates all risk for the consumer, puts payment on the improvements to the back end, where the consumer is “saving money” because they are more efficient and takes that money and pays the improvements off.  Sounds like a great deal!  If you’re in Windsor, check it out at www.windsorefficiencypays.com

And here is the completely copied email:

TOWN OF WINDSOR APPROVES INNOVATIVE,

WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM,

THE FIRST OF ITS KIND IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

 Windsor
Efficiency PAYS^®, available to
eligible Windsor residents starting August 2012, provides water and energy
upgrades for residential properties that provide immediate utility bill savings
—
with no upfront cost or debt.

Windsor, Calif. — As a result of the Windsor Town Council vote on July 18,
2012, Windsor residents will now be able to participate in Windsor Efficiency
PAYS^®, a new, innovative water conservation program that provides
residents with immediate savings on utility bills and requires no upfront cost
or new debt. The program provides for the installation of very efficient
products and appliances, as well as dry-summer, drought resistant landscaping
that will reduce water use, conserve energy and save money.

“Windsor Efficiency PAYS^® provides a real win/win for local
residents and the Town,” said Town of Windsor Mayor Debora Fudge.
“Windsor residents will enjoy new efficient products while saving money and the
Town can reduce its demand on the limited water supply, which could minimize
future costs associated with expanding our infrastructure and reduce the Town’s
overall environmental impact.”

The PAYS^® model is being piloted through a joint effort of
the Town of Windsor, Sonoma County Regional Climate Protection Authority, and
the U.S. Department of Energy, in an effort to eliminate water and energy waste
and address consumer concern for rising utility costs.

“The PAYS^® program works because it allows program
participants to “pay as you save^®” with no loan and no debt
associated with repayment,” said Paul Piazza, Water Conservation Program
Coordinator for the Town of Windsor. “Participants are offered a specified
selection of upgrade measures, such as high efficiency washing machines,
toilets, showerheads/aerators, and drought resistant landscaping; after
installation, participants pay a surcharge on their water bill with the
assurance that their estimated savings on combined utility bills (energy/water)
will exceed the bi-monthly water surcharge.”

Since the PAYS^® program offers the assurance that savings
will exceed monthly surcharges, utility customers must meet eligibility
requirements to participate.  Our Certified Contractor will determine
eligibility based on the customer’s current water and energy usage.

“We are very excited to expand the tools available to residents who want
to reduce their water and energy bills,” said RCPA Chairwoman Valerie Brown.
“The Town of Windsor has stepped up to lead the way on this pilot program and
the RCPA is eager to work with them to ensure success.”

Upgrade measures will be offered as follows:
Basic Package — Includes the latest in high efficiency showerheads, toilets, and faucet
aerators (exceeding the efficiency standards offered under existing Windsor
rebate program).  Participants enter the program here and these basic
measures must be installed, or already meet minimum standards, to qualify for
other upgrades.
Basic Plus Measures — Includes selection of one or more of the following measures: drought
resistant landscaping, high efficiency clothes washer, and compact fluorescent
lights (CFL).
Co-Pay Measures — Additional upgrade measures such as high
efficiency refrigerators, on demand hot water recirculation pumps, and clothes
dryers are available for purchase, requiring some up-front payment.

Additional consumer assurances include: (1) a certified contractor who
has been pre-qualified and selected to install upgrade measures and comply
fully with installation standards and codes, is fully insured, and whose work
is bonded; (2) if a participant leaves a home or
apartment in which they have installed PAYS® measures, the payment obligation
for the upgraded measures which remain installed at the home or apartment ends;
and (3) if any installed measure fails at any time, it will be repaired or the
payment obligation ends.

A PAYS^® Certified Contractor will contact qualifying
residents beginning in August.  To find out more, contact our
Certification Agent, Sonoma County Energy Independence, at (707) 565-6472 or
visit www.windsorefficiencypays.com.

The City of Santa Rosa is hosting a series of two day workshops that will teach you how to install a graywater irrigation system, it’s that easy.  To save water, reuse the water that is being used by your laundry machine…it’s that easy!

GrayWaterWorkshopflyer7-12