Hugelkultur and Beyond

Join Pasadena Water and Power and non-profit organization Poly/Ana for a presentation on ways to optimize and harvest water through soil building practices utilizing carbon - the foundation of all life on the planet.  We will be discussing hugelkultur, and other ways to bring raw materials (such as logs, green waste, cardboard, and other biodegradable materials) together to catalyze bio-activity and support maximum water absorption.  These practices help reduce the need for supplemental water in the landscape, re-build ecologies supporting habitat, and green our cities.

Topics covered:

• What is Carbon Culture?
• Why is it beneficial?
• Criteria and considerations
• Techniques
• Lessons learned

Presenters

Shawn Maestretti 

Oracle and alchemist, Shawn Maestretti is a collaborative visionary and optimistic “possibilitarian.” He has been co-creating exceptionally designed and artfully reimagined gardens in California and Nevada since 2006. His personal mission is to reconnect with the natural world, tread lightly on the land, nurture biodiversity, protect water, and bring people together. He always considers impacts on flora, fauna, fungi, soil, water, the biosphere, the interconnectedness of our actions, and of course, a changing climate. Shawn’s legacy is his commitment to leaving a more beautiful world for his son and everyone else.

Leigh Adams 

Leigh is an educator and eco-sensitive designer. She has been a groundbreaking horticultural interpreter at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Gardens for many years and has trained many county agencies in regenerative practices. She has conducted hundreds of hands-on, organically based workshops with local schools, private citizens, and professional groups. Her love of collaboration and education infuse all aspects of her work, leaving participants with a profound sense of empowered accomplishments.

She has held multiple artist’s residencies including with the Los Angeles County Arboretum, Metabolic Studios, Westland School, and New Horizon School. Leigh received a Global Citizen Award from the United Nations, an Angel Award from the City of Los Angeles, the National Gardening Teacher of the Year 2020, and an Outstanding Citizen Award from the County of Los Angeles. Leigh is the muse, inspiration, artist, water harvester, and wisdom-keeper of Studio Petrichor.

Poly/Ana

Poly/Ana is a non-profit whose mission is to educate and empower communities to honor and protect natural, living systems with a focus on fostering relationships with the land for a thriving future, bringing environmentally beneficial principles, practices and education to communities through hands-on workshops, research, and online education.

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