No alien to the universe of sustainable landscaping, the Ocean Friendly Gardens Committee of the Surfrider San Diego Chapter netted 3 awards for their display at the County Fair! While this year's theme is “Out of This World,” the Chapter's display shows real-world solutions to address water quality and water supply issues that are also economical, beautiful and take a watershed approach. Pictured at right are OFG activist/landscape designer, Morgan Vondrak, and SD OFG Outreach Coordinator, Shauna McKellar - standing in front of their display.
Here's a link to a great blog post about the Chapter's experience. Also check out a post by G3/The Green Gardens Group.
People coming by the display are told that anybody interested in offering their house for a Garden Assistance Party (GAP) Workday will have to first attend the Chapter's next Watershed Basics Class. This protocol helps insure that everyone gets fair treatment and really understands the program before the Chapter puts its precious resources into a yard transformation. Of course, the Chapter is happy to forward anyone to a list of local professionals who are qualified to assist. These professionals have attended a training plus written exam conducted by G3 that teaches to the OFG standards.
Morgan, who designed the award winning display, will be giving a talk on how people can save money and the environment through the use of Low Impact Design (LID) in the garden by applying the OFG principles of CPR: Conservation, Permeability and Retention. Shauna will be tracking some numbers during the fair (e.g., how many brochures are handed out, how many people are spoken to, how many people attend Morgan's talk) so she can do an effectiveness assessment at the end of the fair. This info can be shared with other chapters considering this kind of outreach. Last year, 1.4 million people visited the fair, making it the 5th largest fair in the US.