This co-op is something I got turned onto by my friend, Arlene. I was having a problem with a crack in the foundation of my house and I needed some expert advice as to how to go about taking care of what had been deemed a water problem. I had known for a long time that my house sat a little lower than the street level and that eventually I would have to do something about it. She glowingly reported how the Watershed Management Group co-op had done a workshop at her house to catch the water that ran off of her roof in the rain, and that involvement with them could provide a low cost way to catch and manage the water running off my house during a rain. She also mentioned that they had a grant to do a workshop which I could apply for. I applied for membership and the grant at the same time. I met with Lincoln, a co-op member and workshop leader, to discuss my house and my particular problem. I felt very confident that I was receiving the advice I needed from Lincoln. It felt great to know that there was an affordable solution to my problem through involvement with the co-op.
Since my situation was deemed more of an emergency (I think), my 16 hours of working on other people's projects didn't happen before the workshop at my house. After my workshop was scheduled, I didn't know what to really expect. My first experience of working with the co-op was on my own project, and I couldn't have been more impressed! The sense of community I experienced was something I hadn't felt since I was a child in a rural Midwestern community. I was so impressed with the professionalism of the workshop leaders, and the hard work and commitment of the other co-op members. My yard (which had been backhoed with trees removed 2 weeks before) was transformed in less than 4 hours. I had contact with the workshop leaders in the few weeks prior to the project and so I had ordered all the supplies we needed. I had done quite a bit of work on the yard to get it ready for the co-op, and was holding my breath because it felt like so much was resting on the workshop's success. In the end, I need not have worried in the least. It was a fabulous experience, and I look forward to putting in my hours at other people's houses and giving back the gift that I have received.
This co-op is doing important work. Everyone I have told about my co-op experience in the past month is very impressed and very interested. There is a need for the knowledge that the co-op offers, but more than that, there is a need for that sense of community that it offers. And for many of us, there is a need to make these kinds of transformational, water saving adjustments to our properties in a way that we can afford. There is no way that I could have afforded to do this alone at my house. I'm a single mom in school. The kind of benefits that these water harvesting projects bring to a community can really be manifest when people with low incomes have access to the information and the resources. This is such a valuable resource for Tucson! I feel very blessed to be a part of it. And, I love my front yard!
