Russian River-Friendly Landscaping

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Russian River-Friendly Landscaping Resources

Learn more about each principle and past events

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Past Events

Upcoming environmentally-friendly landscaping events and trainings around the watershed:

As the coronavirus continues to spread, event organizers have recently been canceling, postponing public gatherings, or moving to online platforms. Please visit this page often to stay up to-date on any upcoming environmentally friendly events and workshops around the watershed during the year.

Saturday, July 29, 2023 - Zero Waste: Rainwater Harvesting Tour in Healdsburg

Join Daily Acts, Sonoma Water, and the City of Healdsburg to learn how to turn your yard into a drought-resilient landscape. We’ll be highlighting rainwater catchment systems, graywater, and low-water-use plants.

During this program, we will tour the landscapes of 2 different homes that include rainwater catchment and laundry-to-landscape graywater systems. Our hosts will highlight the system components, and design considerations, as well as rebates that you can take advantage of.

When you attend this event you will also be entered to win a free Leaf Eater! Leaf Eaters are a great tool to help you reduce the amount of debris that enters your rain tank.

*You must attend the program to be entered to win*

Register here.

Thursday, August 10, 2023 - FREE WEBINAR Tree Care During Climate Change

We all know that climate change is here; so how do our landscapes survive and thrive during increasingly warm or wet seasons? And, what about our trees, that provide us with life, oxygen and so much more! How do we maintain their health while recognizing the reality of today’s climate?

Please join us for a free webinar to learn about how we can care for our trees and the importance of maintaining their health in light of climate change. We’ll be partnering with experts from Vintage Tree Care and will be discussing the many benefits of trees in our landscapes and the best methods for caring for them to optimize health.

Please come with your questions and curiosity as we explore this important.

Join this FREE program to learn about:

The ecological value that trees provide
How to care for trees to maximize health and save water
How having healthy trees can help to reduce the impacts of climate change

*Advanced registration is required

Register here

Thursday, October 12, 2023 - FREE WEBINAR Retain the Rain: Rain Gardens and Swales

Rain gardens and swales aren’t just beautiful landscape features — they also help recharge groundwater, reduce pollution in our waterways, provide habitat for butterflies, birds and other pollinators, and build soil health!

Join us for this FREE program to learn how to design and install your own rain garden!

Please come with your questions and curiosity as we explore this important.

Join this FREE program to learn about:

The ecological benefits of slowing, spreading and sinking stormwater runoff
How stormwater retention in our gardens and landscapes can help reduce the impacts of climate change
How to design and build rain gardens and swales

*Advanced registration is required. Click here to register

More to come!

In addition to the above upcoming webinars, the folks at Daily Acts and the City of Santa Rosa have curated a range of their past webinars. Full recordings are available for you to watch at your convenience.

Daily Acts:

City of Santa Rosa

Landscapes That Protect Our Waterways

Russian River-Friendly Landscaping is a whole systems approach to design, construction, and maintenance of the landscape which supports the integrity of one of California’s richest and most diverse ecosystems: the Russian River watershed! Create and maintain healthy, beautiful, and vibrant landscapes with the following principals:

Landscape Locally
Landscape for Less to the Landfill
Nurture the Soil
Conserve Water
Conserve Energy
Protect Water and Air Quality
Conserve and Protect Wildlife Habitat

View the Russian River-Friendly Landscape Guidelines (RRFLG) Policy for Demonstration Landscape Signage here.

River-Friendly Practices for the Landscape Professional

The Russian River-Friendly Landscape Guidelines is a comprehensive toolbox of principles and practices for landscape professionals in the Russian River watershed. Download the PDF by clicking on the image to the right.

The Guidelines were created for landscape professionals in the Russian River region by RRWA in 2010 with permission and assistance from StopWaste.org in Alameda County. The Guidelines are a Russian River version of the Bay-Friendly Landscape Guidelines, originally published by StopWaste.org in 2003.

Qualified Landscape Professionals

At this time, the Russian River-Friendly Landscape Guidelines program does not offer a certification for professionals in the Russian River watershed. However, Bay-Friendly Qualified Professionals who conduct business within the Russian River Watershed may list themselves as Russian River-Friendly Qualified. View past Russian River-Friendly Landscaping trainings in the RRFLG Resource Library by clicking the link at the top of the page.