Hello Friends of the Orchard!
Today we are reviewing another exciting project from the past year: the Spaces of Opportunity irrigation system!
The Orchard crew has coordinated the installation of irrigation design and piping for a new Spaces of Opportunity effort to plant a 1-acre food forest and a “forest garden” at the entrance to Spaces. This system will literally save millions of gallons of water annually that can stay in our watersheds!
Last week we began installing a similar system at the Orchard that will further our goals of sustainability and conscious stewardship of this beautiful land with ancient indigenous roots. In 2021, we irrigated food crops using 8,977,207 gallons of SRP water. Yes, that’s nearly 9 million gallons! Thanks to a partnership with engineering students from A.S.U., our own design work, and an investment of approximately $12,000, we will reduce our water use by at least 2 million gallons in 2022, grow more food, and save at least this investment within 5 years in labor costs alone. Or, more accurately, our future labor of love will result in the production of more whole food and a sustainable planet, while we also have more time for other projects!
If you have questions about donating, or the Arizona Qualifying Charitable Organization tax credit, please feel free to let us know! We are so grateful to already have $5,600 of our $20,000 goal, and are looking forward to seeing how your generosity carries our work and mission through this upcoming year.
Thank you for your time, and for taking a moment to learn more about what we do!
-The Orchard Community Learning Center Team