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Rain barrel workshop set for Saturday

The Sonoma Community Center will host a one-day workshop called “Make your own rain barrel” from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 26.

A collaboration between SCC’s Center for Sustainable Living Program and Bay Area-based Greywater Action, the workshop will offer participants sustainable solutions for their own backyards. 

Instructor Christina Bertea of Greywater Action will teach participants how to outfit rain barrels to capture roof run off and store it for later landscaping. 

She’ll share the fundamentals of rainwater catchment, system components and low-tech irrigation methods for the garden.

Then, she will lead participants in outfitting rain barrels with adapters, hose connections and overflows to create their own catchment system. All materials will be provided and participants will take home rain barrels of their own.

Class size is limited, so register early by calling Sonoma Community Center at 938-4626, ext. 1. The workshop is $60 to cover materials costs only.

This rainwater harvesting workshop builds on the recent installation of the Ellman Rainwater Catchment Tank at SCC. The tank has been a springboard for environmental education on water supply issues and landscaping alternatives. Today, it collects rain from the center’s 16,000-square-foot roof. After recent storms, the 7,900 gallon rainwater harvesting system is nearly full.

The rainwater catchment tank and related programs are the product of a two-year collaboration between local partners including the Water Conservation Program of the City of Sonoma; the Sonoma County Master Gardeners; the Ellman Fund; the Sonoma Valley Groundwater Management Program, a broad-based stakeholder group with representatives from agriculture, dairies, government, water purveyors, business and environmental interests; the North Bay Watershed Association, an agency created to promote stewardship of the North Bay watershed by helping public agencies work cooperatively on water resource issues that cross jurisdictional boundaries and comprises 15 regional and local agencies in Sonoma, Marin and Napa counties; the Sonoma County Water Agency; Boden Plumbing; and Rainwater Harvesting Solutions.