Harvest Rainwater

As green goes more mainstream- many amazing products will hit the market.

This one is a recent favorite:

Rainwater Harvesting Vertical Garden Ontario College of Art and Design student Michael Tampilic created this rainwater harvesting vertical terrace, and entered into the Rocket 2008 Industrial Graduation Show and Competition. The way it works is amazing: it connects with your gutter downspout and stores water in a tank, which waters the greenery you plant in the planter boxes.

From Rocket 2008: Vert is a rain terrace: a rainwater harvester and vertical garden. This project establishes sustainable water practices through the harvesting of rain, and brings the advantages of a living wall to the backyard through vertical gardening. Vert alleviates a homes reliance on public utility systems while beautifying unused vertical space.

Vertical gardening is a smart idea for urban areas, and with this cool design, you can harvest your own herbs and veggies even if you live in a tiny apartment, as long as you have just a bit of outdoor space and a gutter downspout available.

You can read more about how it works at the Rocket 2008 website.

On the less beautiful side but certainly functional are my own rain barrels that I purchased ($45) each for Brad for his Father's Day Gift. I got the house 2 barrels, and they are bright blue with a spikit and grate at the top.

Functional....not flashy, but will be a great addition to our sustainability efforts.