Rainwater harvesters in Tucson help tackle Arizona’s water concerns

A long-time Tucson environmentalist and a local elementary school are tackling Arizona’s water concerns one drop at a time. ASU filmmakers Franco Latona and Sam Rosen-Swig show us how rainwater harvesters are cultivating native plants around Tucson. While reducing the city’s dependence on municipal water from the Colorado River.

In the short film “Plant the Rain,” Rain Water Harvesters, Brad Lancaster and Erica Freese show us some of the techniques they use to collect rainwater.  These techniques include creating barriers in the ground to simply leaving out buckets to collect the water.

Meanwhile at Manzo Elementry School in Tucson, AZ, students are getting a hands-on education in harvesting rain. Ecology Program Coordinator, Blue Baldwin, who oversees the program at the school, learned about rain harvesting from Lancaster and quickly developed a passion for harvesting rain. Her passion is now seen in the students who care for the garden at the school.

Learn how to harvest rain in seven simple steps.