Last Updated May 2005

And their newly constructed

Rainwater Catchment System

A bit of the story...

A grant was awarded to the Rio Dell Community Resource Center (RDCRC) in their effort to establish a community garden that would span the cultural gap between the Latino and Anglo members of their community. In this effort, Judy Pieratt -RDCRC Coordinator- has been the forerunner in establishing connections within the town of Rio Dell. Through negotiations with the Rio Dell Baptist Church and the Municipal Water Service, Pieratt was able to acquire land for the garden space and city water at a subsidized rate.

My role has been to serve as an interpreter in community meetings, construct the rainwater catchment system for use as a supplemental water source, and as a general motivator for the garden project. The task has been demanding, but ever-so rewarding.

As of yet, the garden itself is not entirely underway, however, after several community meetings a number of families have joined the project and garden spaces are being assigned. The rainwater catchment system is installed and is now awaiting the formation of dark clouds on the horizon.

The RDCRC is in the process of constructing a bridge that not only spans a cultural gap in their community, but one that brings the community as a whole closer together. They are being thrust forward by the desire to create a stronger sense of place, not only for their long time members, but for their newly arrived as well. Where at one point the newly immigrated were isolated from the whole, by choice or by cultural seclusion, there now stands an infrastructure to support the cultivation of their communal well being.

 

Please feel free to CLICK on the picture above or the links in this paragraph for a more detailed description of the rainwater catchment system itself. There are three different sections: the downspout, the tank, and the deck.

Special thanks to Judy Pierrat and the RDCRC, Rio Dell Baptist Church, Lonny Grafman and the Engineering Dept. of Humboldt State University, and to veiwers like you.

 

Web links:

More on rainwater harvesting-- Mother Earth News

Campus Center for Appropriate Technology-- humboldt.edu/~ccat/

Environmental Resource Engineering Dept. at HSU-- humboldt.edu/~ere_dept/