Free Talk: Water Harvesting – Beyond the Barrel

Join us for this free talk on Thursday, March 17th at the Elfin Forest Interpretive Center from 6 – 7 p.m. Food security and the restoration of degraded lands are two of the most important issues we face today. This talk will explain how you can harvest thousands of gallons of rainwater on your property using simple systems that are often low cost or free, and create food forests to provide food in your backyard. Empower yourself to become more water and food self-sufficient, and resilient, in times of a changing climate or a break in the water or power line. Even during this period of drought and water scarcity, we can still grow food and create beautiful landscapes and this talk will explain how to do that on a property of any scale.

Alden is a graduate of the internationally renowned Center for Agro-ecology and Sustainable Food Systems program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Following an extended period of travel in Asia, Alden found that traditional farming practices had been largely abandoned and replaced by the globalization of Western agriculture. This was a wake up call, seeing that even in the most remote areas of India, hybrid seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides were the norm. He began to dedicate his path to organic gardening practices, regenerating the soil, social justice, and acting as if the earth really matters. Alden Hough has created an extensive permaculture water harvesting demonstration site at Sky Mountain Permaculture in Harmony Grove, Escondido, where he offers workshops and tours.