Project Portfolio

Skywater’s Strategy

The United States Forest Service wanted to create a demonstration garden of plant species and biotic communities native to the Sedona area as part of environmental educational services for this high-traffic Coconino National Forest district ranger station. To construct the native-plant rain garden, we directed run-off from surrounding hardscape into a series of terraces and basins which fill during storms. The basins filter out pollutants and feed a slower, more-steady supply of nutrient-rich rainwater to the plants. A large rainwater storage tank captures and holds rain collected and filtered from the roof. Stored water is pressurized and fed to the drip system to water plants during dry periods, primarily during new-plant establishment and times of drought. The system and garden were installed with the help of National Forest staff and volunteers.