Water Conservation Garden offers ‘green’ learning experiences for all ages

Sustainability and conservation are key factors in surviving our current climate emergency. Taking small steps to reduce our carbon footprint, being mindful of creating waste, and conserving water are small changes everyone can make to help reduce our impact on the environment. Keeping all these things in mind, it is still possible to have a beautiful garden while being mindful of water usage and composting all organic wastes.

Utilities Kingston has an award-winning Water Conservation garden at 1211 John Counter Boulevard. Aspiring, and established, gardeners can take a free tour and be inspired by more than 100 plants which have low water requirements.

You may already know using mulch and compost will help your gardens retain moisture, but there are many lovely plants whose water needs are quite low. You may wander the garden any time during daylight hours, but Utilities Kingston also offers free 15-minute guided tours at 10:30 a.m. every weekday.

“Touring the garden is a free and easy way for gardeners to see a variety of plants and landscaping techniques they can use in their own gardens. Create a beautiful, low-maintenance outdoor space that relies more on what nature provides, and less on treated water,” said Caitlin Newey, conservation officer for Utilities Kingston.

Families are encouraged to bring their children for a tour, then stay for children’s programming beginning at 11 a.m. Registration is not required, and your little one will design a water wise button to take home.

Utilities Kingston is also offering ‘Everything Drainage’ workshops at the Water Conservation garden again this year. With the water levels still rising, many homes and properties may benefit from changes to their natural drainage. Managing storm runoff and learning how to conserve rainwater are also important topics covered in these workshops.

From the website: “Have standing water on your property? Notice your sump pump running frequently? The Everything Drainage Workshop is for you. It’s also for homeowners who would like to make every raindrop count to conserve tap water.”

Everything Drainage workshops are available on weekday evening during the summer:

• Beginner workshops: Wednesday, July 17, 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, July 27, 10 a.m. to noon.
• Advanced workshops: Wednesday, Aug. 14, 6 to 8 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m. to noon.

Register to attend a workshop on the Utilities Kingston website, by phone at 613-546-0000 (say “Conservation”) or email [email protected].

Learn more about the Water Conservation Garden here.

Utilities Kingston also offers rain barrels for sale. Learn more here.

I have gathered further information on native plants and gardening in the Kingston area – read all about it here: Native Plant Gardening (Kingston and area).

Jessica is a busy working mom and writer who enjoys covering local interest stories, and creating content for her own website A Modern Mom’s Life.  She loves living, working, and playing in Kingston.  You can see what she gets up to with her family on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!