Chino Basin Water Conservation District offering Watershed Wise Landscape Professional Training

The Chino Basin Water Conservation District will be offering G3’s US EP WaterSense recognized Watershed Wise Landscape Professional Certification (WWLP) program in early December for conservation, water quality and landscape professionals to evaluate irrigation systems and factor rainwater use efficiency into outdoor water efficiency analysis and to earn the WWLP certificate.

In light of both California’s five-plus year drought – and mounting uncertainty for rain and snow this coming year – and the realities of climate change, today’s water and landscape professionals need to be more than water wise. Becoming Watershed Wise allows industry professionals to better manage our increasingly restricted water and how to best use water for the beauty and functionality of landscapes.

The WWLP program’s learning objectives include:

• Conducting a landscape water audit and site evaluation
• Designing Projects within Water Budgets using Plant Factor
• Using soil food web principles to remove lawn without chemicals and build living soil
• Determining the size and site a Rain Garden that holds on to First Flush
• Calculating irrigation run times and precipitation rates to eliminate dry-weather runoff
• Selecting highly efficient new techniques and technologies

The four-step process for WWLP certification includes completing 16 hours of coursework, over two-days, in the local area provided by a G3-qulified WWLP trainer.  Coursework will include conducting an irrigation audit and site assessment, removing turf and building living soil through sheet mulching, and designing a passive rainwater catchment system (rain garden). Additionally, candidates for the WWLP certificate must successfully pass the WWLP certification exam, submit a whole landscape site evaluation and maintain annual CEU requirements.

The Watershed Wise Landscape Professional certification is recognized as a WaterSense labeled Professional Certification Program for Irrigation System Auditing. Upon successful completion of the four steps to certification, professionals are listed as Certified Professionals on the EPA’s WaterSense website.

The next Watershed Wise Landscape Professional training will be offered on Dec. 7-8 (Wednesday and Thursday), 2016 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Two certification testing dates are being offered on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2016 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 19, 2016 from 9:00-11:00 a.m.

The course fee is $150 per person and includes handbook, instruction, light breakfast, and lunch.  Though the certification classes are valued at $600 the Chino Basin Water Conservation District, the Department of Water Resources, and the BIA of Southern California Baldy View Chapter are sponsoring the training to provide affordable professional development opportunities to water and landscaping professionals.

For additional information call Chino Basin Water Conservation District at 909-626-2711. To register for the training go to: http://www.cbwcd.org/240/Watershed-Wise-Landscape-Professional-Tr