Dry Land Water Harvesting Classes

How to Capture and Store Water in Your Landscape

Series of Workshops Begins Sunday, March 6th

Series of Workshops Begins Sunday, March 6th

Please join us for any or all of this series classes to learn about water harvesting with "on contour" planting beds and swales. These methods will help you to create a garden that will use less water over time, control erosion and hold water underground for your plants and trees. These classes will Introduce you to the entire process, start to finish.
  • Contour maps and how to read the landscape.
  • Runoff, where it comes from, and how to collect it.
  • Water Catchment Construction Techniques.
  • Edible, Medicinal, and Beneficial plants for a Dryland.
  • Hands on: How to survey for water catchment and plantings.
  • Hands on: Construction and finishing of a catchment swale.
  • Hands on: Seeding Cover Crops, Plant Trees, and mulch.

From The Back Yard to the Back 40

The First two classes will be held at The Volunteer Center Commons

501 E. 13th St. (behind Knights of Columbus Hall)

Silver City

12noon-4pm

  • March 6th - Intro to Contour Maps, and catchment areas. How to Calculate run off and how to decide on water catchment methods using site specific examples. How to use online tools and resources, to help make better decisions in your own yard. AND Plants! Learn about how to mimic natural systems and use plants and their placement benefit one another, mitigate evaporation and suppress weeds. This will cover examples of Edible, Medicinal, Functional and Beneficial plants that are well suited to the southwest.


Hands On Classes will be held at Townside Farm. 3100 Little Walnut Rd, Silver City.

12noon-4pm

  • March 20th- On site Surveying methods and tools. See the difference between the map and the territory. Learn how to make and use simple DIY surveying tools. Practice Surveying and 'flag' an area to construct a new catchment swale. Observe the construction process of a swale. Observe a 'finished' swale.
  • April 3rd- Swale construction and finish work. Hands on finish work and swale shaping. Planting of conservation trees, seeding in of cover crops and laying down mulch. Observations and discussions of the change and effects of the earthworks on the landscape.