(2020 WSB photo, Puget Ridge Edible Park)

Puget Ridge Edible Park (18th/Brandon) is an ongoing neighborhood collaboration and demonstration of what could be achieved in many more neighborhoods – a step toward true community sustainability by growing food. The project is already supported by many volunteer hours. Now it’s time to seek monetary donations too – with a specific goal: Catching more rainwater to use during the dry season. Longtime sustainability advocate Stu Hennessey explains:

This year, the Puget Ridge Edible Park produced a large quantity of produce to feed over 40 families that come regularly for harvesting and many more that harvest from our free farmstand. This year we would like to expand our demonstration for rain harvesting to use less municipal water. This example of resilience is a big part of our mission.

All over our nation, water supplies are becoming scarce. Without water, crops will fail. There is plenty of water available during the year, just not during our growing and harvest season. Last summer in Seattle, from June 21st to September 21st, we received 0.5 inches of rain. October was also the driest and warmest on record, with a fall season record-high temperature of 88 degrees on October 16th. Rain harvesting is the only way to offset the effects of our changing climate. We hope our efforts will be an example of resilience for the future.

To collect water during our rainy season, we need to build an overhead structure to fill our 2 current cisterns at the cost of $2,000. We would also like to expand our water collection by installing a 3,000-gallon Norwesco cistern, which costs $2500 plus $500 for delivery. Rainwater harvesting is very important, and gardens thrive on the natural water free of chlorines and fluorides which are meant to kill essential soil bacteria and microbes. Rain harvesting is the future of farming.

If you can donate, here’s where to go.