Woodbury to Host 'Smart Design Strategies for Managing Water + Energy'

BURBANK, Calif., March 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Arid Lands Institute (ALI) at Woodbury University is hosting a series of free workshops beginning March 27 to help homeowners, business owners, real estate developers, and design professionals make smart decisions about water and energy.

The "Smart Design Strategies for Managing Water + Energy in a Changing Climate" series recognizes that localized management of rainwater, storm water runoff, and reclaimed wastewater will be crucial to sustaining Western cities in the face of climate change. Workshop leaders will offer strategies for both new construction and retrofits.

The Saturday workshops will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on March 27, April 3, and April 17 in the Ahmanson Main Space at Woodbury University, 7500 Glenoaks Blvd., Burbank, California.  Workshops are offered in partnership with the City of Burbank as part of a major grant from the Department of Housing and Urban Development/Office of University Partnerships.

The workshops are as follows:

March 27–Smart Buildings: Green Roofs/Green Walls

Architects Linda Taalman and Debbie Richmond and landscape architect Stephanie Landregan will explore projects, products, and policies shaping "green" building as well as case studies on transforming local building projects into beautiful landscaped surfaces.

April 3—Smart Landscapes: Yard, Driveway, Sidewalk, Street

Architect and Edible Estates gardener Fritz Haeg will share his experiences related to turning lawns into gardens to grow food at home. David Fletcher and Holly Harper will focus on strategies for capturing rainwater and minimizing runoff by looking closely at the edges of private property and public space such as driveways, sidewalks, and green streets.

April 17—Smart Systems: Rainwater Harvesting + Grey Water

Despite heavy rains this year, water for irrigation, washing, and bathing is scarce and more expensive. Jenna Didier of Fountainhead Design will lead participants in assessing their water needs and resources on their property, arriving at the best water reuse strategies. Leigh Jerrard of California Greywater Corps will lead a hands-on workshop tapping into laundry machine drainage and legally reusing that water.

A representative of the City of Burbank will be on hand to address issues of code, permits, and so forth. Through bilingual published material, captioned visual presentations, and student translators, programs will be available in English, Spanish, and Armenian.

The Arid Lands Institute (ALI) at Woodbury University trains designers and citizens to be inventive in the face of regional water scarcity and hydrologic variability brought on by climate change.  ALI is an education and outreach center of Woodbury University with a solution-driven focus on design of the built environment, with a particular focus on the cities and landscapes of the American West. 

As part of a major grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, ALI is partnering with the City of Burbank to provide design and planning assistance to communities seeking smart design strategies for water and energy conservation.  Public programming—workshops, lectures, panels, policy forums, and conferences—are an important part of that partnership.

For more information, contact Hadley and Peter Arnold, co-directors, Arid Lands Institute at Woodbury University, at 818.394.3335 or [email protected].

SOURCE Woodbury University