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Santa Barbara Co-op

Hi and welcome to the webpage for the Santa Barbara Green Living Co-op!  We are excited about starting up a Green Living Co-op in the Santa Barbara area, and we will be building membership, developing workshop and educational opportunities, and training instructors over the next year.  

To Join: Membership in the WMG Santa Barbara Co-op and participation in workshops is free. Please fill out the online application to join. Once signed up, you will receive a weekly bulletin announcing upcoming Co-op volunteer opportunities to earn hours, special events, and other member benefits such as subsidies and discounts.

For More Information: Visit our Co-op Details page or contact Barbara Wishingrad: bwishingrad@watershedmg.org or 805-403-4566.

Santa Barbara Co-op seeking tool donations

The Santa Barbara Green Living Co-op is compiling toolkits to use during our workshops.  We are soliciting donations of tools or money to purchase tools to do earthworks and to put in greywater and rainwater harvesting systems.  We are a 501(c)3 non profit and your donation is tax deductible.  

Some of the tools we are seeking include: brooms, hoes, pick axes, rakes, landscaping rakes, flat shovels, spade shovels, trenching shovels, tampers, wheelbarrows, hand trowels, sledgehammers, a mattock/rock picks, and a dolly; we can use two of most items and sometimes up to four (for example, shovels and pick axes).  We are also looking for two 5-gallon coolers, small and large shade tents, a post hole digger, items for our first aid kit, including herbal and homeopathic remedies,and a shed to store our tools and materials.  We need basic construction tools such as hammers, tape measures, adjustable wrenches, channel locks, screwdrivers and pliers.  We welcome donations of power tools such as a reciprocating saws, electric drills, angle grinders, concrete tools, and items related to safety such as gloves, ear plugs, dust masks, and goggles.  All tools need to be in good working condition or better.  

Please contact Barbara Wishingrad at bwishingrad@watershedmg.org or 805-403-4566 if you have items or money to donate.  Thank you for your support of the Santa Barbara Green Living Co-op.

Water Harvesting Lecture Series in Santa Barbara, Aug 19 - 24

WMG is offering five of our in-depth lectures from our Santa Barbara Water Harvesting Certification course to the public! Would you like to learn how to design high-quality, functional water harvesting systems for a variety of applications? Have you done a few water harvesting projects, but would like to learn more? Would you like to learn about cutting-edge green practices that incorporate integrated design and are also simple and affordable?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, these lectures are for you! 

Pre-registration and pre-payment is required for each session. Each lecture costs $25. In order to pre-register, please make your online payment at www.watershedmg.org/contribute and use the "Donate Now" button to make your payment.  Please include the name of the lecture(s) you are registering for and the number of people attending. Payments for lectures must be made at least one day prior to the lecture date.  Please contact Barbara Wishingrad at bwishingrad@watershedmg.org or at 805-403-4566 if you have questions or to arrange payment at the lecture.

  • Friday 8/19: Intro to Water Harvesting and Landscape Design Principles, 1:30 - 3:30, with Owen Dell at the Watershed Resource Center, 2981 Cliff Drive

    • Owen Dell's inspirational lecture will cover the basics of water harvesting and it's role in enhancing and restoring our urban environment and natural ecosystems.  The lecture will also cover basic landscape design principles that can transform water harvesting systems from just being functional to also being beautiful.

  • Friday 8/19: Water Harvesting Earthworks, 4:00-6:00pm, with Catlow Shipek at the Watershed Resource Center, 2981 Cliff Drive
    • Learn in-depth about passive water harvesting earthworks - the most effective and inexpensive water harvesting features that serve as the foundation for all water harvesting.  The lecture covers the design and application of basins, berms, swales, terraces, and french drains and covers lot-scale to watershed scale practices with information on soils, landscape materials, and integration with plants.
  • Monday 8/22: Cisterns, 8:00-10:00am, with Catlow Shipek at Holy Cross Church, 1740 Cliff Drive
    • This lecture is a comprehensive overview of cistern systems including guttering, filtration, storage, and distribution.  Lecture includes best management practices and cistern types for different applications focusing on cisterns for outdoor irrigation.
  • Tuesday 8/23: Greywater Systems, 8:00-10:00am, with Art Ludwig and Brad Lancaster at Holy Cross Church, 1740 Cliff Drive
    •  Greywater systems harvest water from laundry machines, bathroom sink and showers, and air conditioning condensate. Learn how to   reuse greywater in your yard, with a focus on laundry-to-landscape systems, plumbing considerations, and appropriate uses.
  • Wednesday 8/24: Water Harvesting for Food Production, 10:00am-12:00pm, with Brad Lancaster at Holy Cross Church, 1740 Cliff Drive
    •  Brad's lecture covers a diverse range of agricultural applications from backyard to large-scale systems, showing how rain and greywater can enhance food production while conserving water.

 

Services we provide:

Consulting

  • Water Harvesting Systems - rainwater and greywater systems
  • Landscape Site Planning - development of site plans
  • Integrated Design - developing a site plan to serve multiple beneficial functions
  • Passive Rainscapes
  • Residential Greywater systems (laundry to landscape)
  • Rainwater cisterns (coming soon)
  • Landscape Restoration
  • Vegetable gardens and fruit trees
  • Compost Systems


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