Land & Water Caretakers Certification Course
The first class of the Land & Water Caretakers Certification Course, offered in partnership with Benicia Adult Education, brought together interested participants from throughout the county to learn about permaculture, sustainable garden design, water capture, plant guilds and more.
Building on Sustainable Solano’s past experience offering a Land Caretakers course to industry professionals, the Land & Water Caretakers Certification Course was open to anyone interested in building skills through classes and hands-on learning opportunities and workshops. Participants included those who work in the industry and wanted more sustainability education, residents who were seeking design skills to use in their own gardens and communities and those interested in gaining skills they could share with others.
Design/Installation Project: Wild Cherry Way
The Caretakers worked alongside the designer for this project, learning about soil composition, planning for guilds of plants that work together and meeting with the homeowner to assess the site and discuss her vision for the garden. They then participated in public workshops that brought the design into being and followed up with mapping the finished site and learning how to create a maintenance plan for the garden. Learn more about the Wild Cherry Way garden project by clicking on the image to the left or clicking here.
Class Design Project
For the final design for the course, the Caretakers worked with two Benicia residents on a plan for their property. The process involved meeting with the homeowners, researching and drawing up plans and presenting the design elements to the homeowners. View a slideshow of the process to the right, and see how the homeowners have transformed their yard here.
2020 Land & Water Caretakers
Honey Ajero
Mayra Arce
Will Emes
Kristina Fink
Vincente Mariano
Katie Rivera
Jessica Samra
Funding for this program comes from the second amendment to the Valero/Good Neighbor Steering Committee Settlement Agreement, the Solano County Water Agency and student fees.