Workshops to Teach Residents How to Get Paid for Making Lawns Water-Efficient

The City of San Bruno is holding two free landscape workshops on May 12^th and May 19^th. These workshops support the City’s “Lawn Be Gone!” Rebate Program. The Lawn be Gone! Rebate Program gives San Bruno residents and property owners up to $500 to $3,000 for converting front lawns into water-efficient landscapes.  These water-efficient landscapes are affordable, easy to maintain, and provide long-term benefits to the property owners, community and the environment. 

Workshop participants will create a water-efficient demonstration garden in front of San Bruno Fire Station #51 on El Camino Real.  Participants will learn about water-efficient landscaping techniques from experts, and get hands-on experience that they can apply to their own water-efficient landscape conversions at home. 

The workshops are made possible by the Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation Agency (BAWSCA) and the City of San Bruno.  

The Lawn Be Gone! Rebate Program offers $0.50 per square foot to qualifying San Bruno residents and property owners who convert a minimum 200 square feet of lawn to a water-efficient landscape.  Additional terms and conditions are available at BAWSCA’s website at www.bawsca.org, and San Bruno’s website at www.sanbrunowater.ca.gov. 

May 12^th Workshop: The workshop on May 12^th will demonstrate how to convert a spray irrigation system to a drip system.  Instructor Lori Palmquist will teach basic drip irrigation design and installation, how to choose the right irrigation components, watering techniques and proper system maintenance. 

Ms. Palmquist has been a landscape professional for 22 years. She is a Certified Landscape Water Manager per the California Landscape Contractors Association standards, and consults as well as teaches water management workshops for Qualified Water-Efficient Landscaper (QWEL). 

May 19^th Workshop: The workshop on May 19^th will include the installation of a landscape that features California Native and drought tolerant plants.  This workshop will be taught by Sherri Osaka.  

Ms. Osaka is a licensed Landscape Architect, a Bay-Friendly Qualified Designer, and a Certified Green Building Professional. She is the co-founder of the Sustainable Landscape Roundtable, an organization that encourages local landscape professionals to adopt ecological practices.  She is a director of the local chapter of the California Native Plant Society. 

—City of San Bruno