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7th annual community planting of new street-side, water-harvesting basins in the public rights-of-ways of the West University neighborhood – Tucson, AZ

March 28 @ 6:00 am - 10:00 am

WHEN: 6am – 10am, Saturday, March 28, 2026

WHERE: 848 N. 3rd Avenue,
Depending on how many folks show up, and how quick we plant, we may also continue to plant basins at 1007 N. 3rd Ave – (you’ll see us on 1st Street just west of 3rd Ave).

Come help us plant seven new street-side, water-harvesting, eddy basins  — installations in the public commons, planted and stewarded by the participating public.
We plant the rain before we plant the plants!

This planting of rain, trees, understory, & wildflowers is occurring in the West University neighborhood (which is within the same watershed as the Dunbar/Spring neighborhood – so we are all part of the same larger and interconnected waterhood),
but the planting event is open to anyone from any neighborhood, and is a great opportunity to see how such an event, or other Neighborhood Forester endeavors, could be organized elsewhere.

NOTE: there will be a film crew documenting the planting

 

We’ll start with a brief planting demonstration led by Brad Lancaster then plant. The demonstration will show you how to plant the rain to maximize its potential, how to plant food-bearing native trees by seed and/or with nursery stock to maximize passive summer shading/cooling, and how to recycle/plant prunings and leaves as fertility-building, carbon-sequestering, pollutant-filtering, water-harvesting mulch.
End time of ten is approximate (with a good showing of folks we’ll likely finish up early).

Cost: FREE—plus your planting help

Come join us in planting native shade trees, understory vegetation, wildflowers, and seed within or beside water-harvesting earthworks in the public rights-of-way. The idea is to plant native food-producing, flood-controlling, wildlife-habitat-producing, beautiful, air- and water-filtering, living air conditioners.
Street trees that shade up to 75% of the street’s surface can also cool summer neighborhood temperatures by up to 20ºF.

This enhances the walkability and bikeability of our neighborhoods, which improves health and drops crime. When we harvest street runoff to irrigate the street trees, we reduce water consumption as we reduce downstream flooding we naturally bioremediate/filter pollutants, and help indirectly and directly recharge our groundwater. Thus far this annual event has resulted in over 1,800 trees being planted in our neighborhood/waterhood, thousands of understory plants, and contributed to annually harvesting over one and a quarter million gallons of stormwater that used to go to the stormdrain—let’s keep going!

Thanks to Little John Excavating for doing the basin excavation, Churchman Sand & Gravel for catalina granite rock, Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood Foresters for the mesquite branches, and Dryland Design for doing the excellent rockwork and logwork.

 

What to bring: Work clothes, sun hat, gloves, and water as we’ll be working outdoors. A pointed shovel, pruning tools, and/or hard rake would also be great (and we’ll have some extra tools on hand for those lacking them).

 

NEXT PLANTING
Three additional street-side basins on 1st Street are being completed now. Once done we’ll schedule a community planting for them – so check back for date and details.

 

For info and photos from past plantings see here

 

For more info on our Annual Neighborhood Rain, Tree, & Food Forest Planting see here

 

For more info & photos on the plants we plant see here

 

For more info on these and many other water harvesting strategies, check out the full-color, revised editions of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond available at deep discount direct from the author Brad Lancaster.

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