WMG Co-op Featured in Zocalo

 

It is common knowledge that rain harvesting is a wise investment for both our wallets and the Earth, but the initial costs can be intimidating. Between labor and supplies, setting up cisterns, greywater systems or earthworks can run into the thousands of dollars.

 

For a family of four making less than $42,000 a year, such projects are fiscally out of reach - unless they apply for a grant from Tucson's Watershed Management Group (WMG). The cooperative, sweat equity program is based on neighbors helping neighbors, making water saving practices affordable.

 

According to WMG Co-op Coordinator Matthew Bertrand, the program was germinated in January of 2008 with its first project completed in October 2008.

 

"The program was an adaptation of WMG's home demonstration projects," Bertrand said. "Lisa Shipek, WMG's Executive Director, put out a call for an intern to develop a co-op, as being a means to systematize the homeowner projects, to clearly define how a homeowner could obtain a volunteer implemented workshop."