Water Conservation Meets Fun

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Water Conservation Meets Fun

Categories: Blog, Newsworthy

Recent spring rains have been wonderful, but drier days will inevitably follow. At Powell Gardens we like to tell visitors of all ages about the water cycle and steps we can take–especially in the garden–to conserve water.

Nestled in our Fun Foods Farm youth garden, our Water Conservation Court encourages young visitors to think about the water cycle. Whether they’re visiting with a school class or with family on a weekend, children love to work the water pump. They gather the water in a bucket and fill the trough to water our Missouri mule sculptures. Water flows out of the trough and into a nearby stream and seemingly disappears into the ground. What you don’t see just under the surface is an intricate water recovery system that catches the water runoff and recirculates it back to the pump.

In the conservation court, visitors can trace the path of water from the sky, through the plant and back to the sky again. In the garden, one of the best ways to conserve water is to capture it. On May 17 you can learn how to capture rainwater runoff with a rain barrel for later use.

Your instructor Stephanie Kemp has helped more than 300 people in the Kansas City area make and use rain barrels and is a long-time advocate of using our planet’s resources wisely: “I recycle everything, use eco-friendly products and turn off lights when not in use. It doesn’t sound like much, but in my mind, every little bit helps,” Stephanie says. “A large part of using our planet’s resources wisely is water conservation. Putting in a rain barrel is one of the easiest and all around beneficial things I do to conserve water. Plus, rain water is free!”

In Stephanie’s class, you will leave with one big, blue working rain barrel. Painting and decorating will be discussed but not completed in class. At home with a little paint and whimsy, your barrel can either blend into the landscape or be a bold statement of your personality.

If you have one barrel already, Stephanie can show you how to use a second barrel in tandem to collect twice as much water. Sign up today.

Upcoming classes for May: