We Need Water
Even though it rains a lot in the Pacific Northwest, water isn’t as plentiful as it may seem. Join Michael Brent of Cascade Water Alliance as he dives deep discussing today’s most pressing water issues in King County, Washington and beyond from water quality, to sustainable landscaping, to climate change, and the future of our water. Monthly episodes will educate and help homeowners, gardeners, teachers, and students feel empowered to preserve water. Water is a resource we all need and you can help; you are the key to Washington’s water future. The We Need Water Podcast is brought to you by Cascade Water Alliance. Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @weneedH20. More info at CascadeWater.org.
We Need Water
Ripping Out Your Lawn
Welcome back to Season 2 of We Need Water! To kickoff our season we are speaking with Jessi Bloom about how to rip out your lawn. What are the benefits of doing this? Why would you do such a thing? And tips and tricks for how to plan your turf removal. We cover some of Jessi’s favorite tools, plants, and techniques for creating an outdoor space that requires less work and less water.
Jessi was born and raised in the PNW and has a strong background of horticulture and environmental sciences. Her early experience ranged in project management, from organizing restoration projects with community volunteers, to high-end residential and commercial landscape design/build. In early 2000, she decided to start an ethical business in the green industry to fill a niche for organic and ecological landscaping. Seattle Times named her a “rockstar in the ecological gardening movement“, with her leadership combined with artistic design talents she led N.W. Bloom to numerous environmental awards, traveling nationwide as a speaker and is the best-selling author: Free-Range Chicken Gardens (2012) Practical Permaculture Design(2015)which is now in 6 languages; and Creating Sanctuary: Sacred Garden Spaces, Plant Based Medicine and Daily Practices to Achieve Happiness and Well-Being (2017) and its companion workbook Everyday Sanctuary(2019) Jessi’s work has gotten press and been featured in many national and local media outlets from the NY Times, Better Homes & Gardens, Sunset Magazine, DISNEY, Martha Stewart Living, Mother Earth News, UTNE Reader, Fine Gardening Magazine and PBS’s Growing a Greener World TV.
Jessi is passionately committed to volunteering in the community and sits on several advisory boards within the green industry and educational/environmental organizations; hoping to empower people, also raising industry standards, and helped develop the EcoPro program for WA State. Currently she was appointed as an Agriculture Commissioner for King County, as well a member of the WA DNR Urban and Community Forestry Committee. She has 3 kids and spends time with them around their little farm, with a handful of animals and gardens to look after. When she is not working, she enjoys the outdoors: snowboarding, hiking, her horses, running, yoga, biking, rollerskating and stays strong with Olympic weightlifting.
Learn more about Cascade Water Alliance’s We Need Water Program
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