State’s first Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper training for high school students announced

The Montclair-based Chino Basin Water Conservation District (CBWCD) has announced the state’s first Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper (QWEL) training for high school students in a new partnership with the Chaffey Joint Union High School District (CJUHSD). The CJUHSD is comprised of 10 high schools in three cities.

The QWEL program provides an EPA WaterSense labeled certification in water wise landscaping practices for landscape professionals throughout the West. The new skills are applicable in both a residential or workplace environment.

“QWEL training is offering CJUHSD students the opportunity to earn an industry-recognized certification that will likely connect students to advantages when they seek employment,” said Chaffey Joint Union High School District’s Dr. Virginia Kelsen, executive director of College and Careers.  “It also expands their awareness of water conservation, environmental issues and sustainability.”

High school trainees will undertake 20 hours of instruction on principles of landscape water management, proper plant selection for the local climate, irrigation system design and maintenance, and irrigation system programming and operation under the direction of CBWCD staff and Elliot Joyner, a Landscape Design and Turf Management instructor at CJHUSD’s Valley View High School Regional Occupational Program. The curriculum is specifically tailored to Southern California’s Inland Empire area to help reduce the demand on limited water resources.

Montclair High School student Raul Huerta said, “When I graduate I want to start my own landscaping business, and what I am learning is helping me more than I could ever imagine.”  Anthony Godinez, a student at Valley View High School, echoed Huerta’s praise for the program saying, “QWEL has taught me so much about plants and soils. I now know how to group plants at home based on their water requirements.”

Founded in 1949, CBWCD owns and maintains groundwater recharge basins and offers water conservation education, demonstration and training programs through its Water Conservation Campus and demonstration garden and with various community partners throughout the region.

The next round of English QWEL training for the public is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Oct 12. The program is also available on separate dates in Spanish by calling 909-267-3228. To register or for questions regarding the program contact www.cbwcd.org/QWEL or call 909-626-2711. To see a list of local QWEL professionals, visit www.cbwcd.org/QWELgrads.

Yesenia Aguayo from Montclair High School summed up the unique new program saying “I am excited to learn about water efficiency and how I can help my family and friends conserve water at their homes. This is something I can be proud of.”