Saurabh Patil of Boy Scout Troop 616 in Irvine has successfully completed a portable informational kiosk for the Shadetree Partnership nursery at UC Irvine for his Eagle Scout Project. He presented his project at a Shadetree Board of Directors meeting held at Irvine Ranch Water District on October 18.

“When I was looking for a project, I found out about Shadetree,” Saurabh said. “Others from my troop had done projects for Shadetree andI was attracted to the environmental aspect of the organization.”

Shadetree Partnership is a non-profit organization that donates water-efficient trees for planting at parks, schools and other public property.

Saurabh got material donations from home improvement stores and raised money by holding garage sales and recycling. Over a three-day period, Saurabh and his 21 volunteers built the kiosk, which will hold fliers, certificates and a donation box. He donated the money he had left over from his project to Shadetree.

Saurabh, 17, attends Northwood High School and has been scouting since the age of seven. He has gone through all of the Scout ranks with a core group of friends who have been involving in the troop as long as he has. The group of eight will have their court of honor together to receive their Eagle status next summer.

Saurabh hopes to go to college as a pre-medical student and become a pediatrician, following in the footsteps of his grandfather in India.

“I have wanted to do that since I was very young,” he said. “I always admired my grandfather’s work.”

For more information about IRWD environmental programs, please visit our website. Visit Shadetree Partnership’s website for more information.

Contact: Shannon Reed, Public Affairs Manager
reeds@irwd.com, (949) 453-5500

Beginning this week, students in the Middle Earth housing community at University of California, Irvine will compete against each other in an effort to reduce water consumption and promote environmental sustainability.

“Ivine Ranch Water District prides itself in being a leader in water use efficiency in California and is committed to evaluating new technologies and strategies,” said IRWD Assistant Director of Water Policy, Fiona Sanchez. “With the Water Battle, we’re excited to see how real-time information about water use and the spirit of competition can produce long-term water savings and where better to do this than at one of the leading universities in the state?”

For four weeks, indoor water consumption for each of the eighteen dormitories will be tracked, including toilet flushing, shower usage and faucets. Throughout the battle, students can check each dormitory’s standing in real-time through the Aquacue dashboard which reports how much water each dormitory has used up to that point. A base rate of water consumption was recorded during the first two weeks of the school session to serve as the water savings benchmark.

This battle of epic proportions is the result of a partnership between IRWD and UCI. IRWD supplied UCI Student Housing with Aquacue’s Barnacles, which are small electronic devices that attach onto water meters and transmit real-time water use data via a cellular network to a cloud-based software program that is accessible from the internet. 

The contest is fitting for a campus that is committed to sustainability and has made a priority to implement environmentally-friendly upgrades throughout campus.

In keeping with the theme of environmental sustainability, UCI has focused its outreach efforts through a paperless campaign, employing the use of social media, email blasts and word of mouth to increase awareness. Students are encouraged to utilize standard, such as taking shorter showers, while also developing and sharing  creative methods to reduce water consumption.

In addition to bragging rights and a celebratory feast, the UCI Department of Student Housing will provide the winning dormitory with a $1,000 donation to the charity of their choice, made in their honor.  

Please visit our website for more conservation information.

Are you aware that between September 1^st and 30^th we lost 30 minutes of sunshine?  In October we will lose even more sunshine each day. While it’s a subtle difference, your plants do notice the change in daylight. Even though it can still be hot outside, plants start preparing for winter and, as a result, aren’t as thirsty. 

Having an automatic irrigation controller does not mean that you are watering your plants efficiently.  A controller is only as efficient as its schedule, which must be kept up to date.  October is a critical time to change your watering times as the days become shorter and plants no longer need the amount of water they did in July and August. 

When you react to the changing daylight by reducing your watering times, your plants and bank account will benefit.  Visit our Take Control of Your Controller web page at www.alwayswatersmart.com for great tips and resources to help you water efficiently.

Shadetree Partnership has donated hundreds of trees and shrubs that have been planted along a wall separating the Irvine Ranch Water District’s Michelson Water Recycling Plant and the San Joaquin Marsh.

“This is a true partnership with IRWD,” said Tom Bonkowski, General Manager for Shadetree Partnership.

A plant palette was established during construction of the floodwall behind the plant. Once the 2,000-foot wall was completed, the trees and shrubs were planted on a mulched berm along the North Loop trail in the Marsh.

The landscape adds ambience to the Marsh and will serve to screen the plant. Once mature, the trees will form an inviting canopy over the trail.

Shadetree Partnership was created in 1990 to provide public awareness and understanding about urban forestry and is committee to community involvement. Hundreds of trees are donated each year to be planted on public lands. Many of the trees and plantings are cultivated in Shadetree’s nursery at UC Irvine.

For more information about the Marsh or Shadetree Partnership, please visit our website.