All Santa Clara Valley Water Courses
Free
All Levels
CRLA: You Can Do It! Design a New Landscape Without Starting Over – Valley Water
CRLA: You Can Do It! Design a New Landscape Without …
Free
CRLA: You Can Do It! Design a New Landscape Without Starting Over – Valley Water
What you'll learn
Though we often think that a successful landscape requires the removal of everything and working from a blank slate. That is a myth. You can have a thriving, beautiful garden by maximizing opportunities that already exist and discovering what easy steps you can take to create the garden you imagine. Topics include:
1. Tactics for gradually converting conventional landscapes and getting started
2. Special considerations for designing small spaces, shade, and slopes
3. Develop a flexible palette of local climate-appropriate plants
4. Place plants according to microclimates, hydrozones, and function
5. Ideas for repurposing and reusing materials to rejuvenate your landscape
Free
All Levels
CRLA: Healthy Soils and Edible Gardens – Valley Water
CRLA: Healthy Soils and Edible Gardens workshop hosted by Santa …
Free
CRLA: Healthy Soils and Edible Gardens – Valley Water
What you'll learn
This workshop dives into the importance of soil health and how to create a successful edible garden. Some topics covered include:
1. The ‘soil party’ and the relationship between plants and soil
2. Different types of compost and how to create them yourself
3. Soil testing and alternative soil amendments
4. Integrate edibles in your landscaping
5. Successfully irrigate edible landscapes (in places that need it)
Free
All Levels
CRLA: Select Climate Ready Plants Like a Pro – Valley Water
CRLA: Select Climate Ready Plants Like a Pro workshop hosted …
Free
CRLA: Select Climate Ready Plants Like a Pro – Valley Water
What you'll learn
Choosing the plants for our landscape is not just about the color of the flowers or the butterflies it will attract. It is also about understanding how to select plants that will naturally thrive in a garden’s unique conditions. Topics include:
1. Understand how plants adapt to their climates through the help of the soil microbiome
2. Begin to see plants as part of a greater ecosystem, filled with diversity and delight
3. Select the trees that become the cornerstone to your resilient landscape
4. Appreciate the benefits (and challenges) of working with local native plants
5. Start inviting native beneficial insects, birds, and other fauna through diverse plant selection
6. Develop your inner “green thumb,” no previous experience required
Free
Beginner
Permeable Everywhere Workshop – Valley Water
Permeable Everywhere workshop hosted by Santa Clara Valley Water District. …
Free
Permeable Everywhere Workshop – Valley Water
What you'll learn
In this class, learn how to explore various opportunities for creating permeable surfaces in the garden, whether using plants or hardscape.
• Pathways of brick, flagstone, or decomposed concrete
• Walkable plant material
• Repurposing existing concrete and other permeable hardscape options
• Permeable concrete pros, cons, and maintenance
• Grading hardscape to capture rainwater
Free
Beginner
Love It or Lose It: Rethinking Your Lawn – Valley Water
Love It or Lose It: Rethinking Your Lawn workshop hosted …
Free
Love It or Lose It: Rethinking Your Lawn – Valley Water
What you'll learn
In this class, learn how to remove your lawn and make the right moves for creating a gorgeous, watershed wise landscape including:
1. Removing turf without the use of chemicals
2. Replacing it with climate-appropriate plantings
3. Keeping it in place but maintaining it in an organic manner
4. Simple lawn care strategies to improve resilience
5. Managing the big three: weeds, pests, and disease
Free
Beginner
Find and Fix Outdoor Leaks – Valley Water
Find and Fix Outdoor Leaks workshop hosted by Santa Clara …
Free
Find and Fix Outdoor Leaks – Valley Water
What you'll learn
How to detect IF you have a leak
Tracking down the source of the leak
Preventive measures to avoid potential leaks
Whether to do DIY or when to bring in a professional
Free
Intermediate
Resilent Landscapes: Defensible Space Meets Urban Cooling
Sponsored by Valley Water, full video from the February 26, …
Free
Resilent Landscapes: Defensible Space Meets Urban Cooling
What you'll learn
Challenges associated with managing defensible space in your landscape
Techniques for urban cooling
Free
Intermediate
The New Commercial Landscape
Sponsored by Valley Water, “The New Commercial Landscape” is a …
Free
The New Commercial Landscape
What you'll learn
Challenges associated with irrigating and managing typical non-functional turf areas in CII landscapes
Importance of polycultures and plant family diversity to overall community health
Selecting plants for greater resiliency and soil health
Step-by-step process to accomplishing a naturalistic planting design
Maximizing rainwater capture
Strategically investing in turf replacement projects
