March 22 is World Water Day!

Andrea Hurd • March 18, 2020

This post was crafted by our South Bay Manager and Crew Leader Elizabeth Sarmiento. Her life has been an unbroken string of social justice and environmental activism. You can learn more about her work Here.

World Water Day provides us with the opportunity to focus our attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. In 2010, the United Nations recognized “the right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation as a human right that is essential for the full enjoyment of life and all human rights”. However, 2.1 billion of people today are still living without safe drinking water. This happens even in our own country - 70 million people in the USA may be affected by health-based contamination of water, including lead, copper, arsenic, and other contaminants.

Find your home in nature

We have a unique approach that is distinct from other landscaping companies. “We work with our clients to get them their dream garden but we are first and foremost gardening as advocates for wildlife habitat and climate friendly practices” says Kari.

A wooden walkway in a garden with a house in the background.

We all agree that water is precious—so instead of moving it off our properties we can "Slow it, Spread it, Sink it", a basic Permaculture principle that we at Mariposa are proud to practice and incorporate in our projects. We capture storm rain in barrels to water our veggie gardens or trees during summer time and build permeable driveways to recharge the groundwater. Our rain gardens are created with bio-swales, and basins that direct, detain, and filter water to invigorate our soil ecology, enhance our yard's aesthetic, encourage habitat, filter pollutants to keep them out of The Bay, and assist in the relief of over-tasked city storm drains. These practices support the UN's initiative of safe, clean drinking water, and sanitation as a human right.

A house with a lot of grass in front of it

If you're interested in the work of Mariposa and in working with us to make a difference in honoring World Water Day year round visit us Here. You can learn more about our Water Wise Practices through visiting the blog posts listed below.

Adding Shelter and Water for Pollinators to the Garden

Secret Sources of Free Water

A garden filled with lots of plants and trees.

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Summer Is Almost Here, Start Thinking About Your Soil

By Andrea andrea • June 9, 2025

CHECK YOUR SOIL! Isn’t it great to feel the longer and warmer days of late Spring? I love the feeling of going outside and seeing the sun, shining brightly on all of the green leaves and beautiful flowers. It is so wonderful to feel the glow of summer approaching. What a joy to get caught up in that glow, while we watch the gardens grow gorgeously. However, that joy makes it easy to forget that here in the Bay Area, we are entering the months long dry season. Our Mediterranean climate shifts this time of year, which can transform gardens from showing lots of flowering and new green growth, to gardens where soils and plants become dry and damaged. This transition can lead to health issues in the garden over the coming weeks and months. While plants are still thriving from the lovely winter rains, the soils are now drying out. We often don’t realize that the soils are becoming too dry because at this time of year, it takes plants longer to show signs of stress. However, if we know what is about to come, we can stay ahead of the dry season and the damage that hydrophobic soils can do to our garden.

Happy Spring!!!

By Andrea andrea • May 3, 2025

With the warmer temperatures and longer days, gardens are literally bursting with hope. New leaves unfurl and early blooms emerge under the lengthening days and warming temperatures. April never fails to inspire me with its magical expression in the natural world. Each year, as this phenomenon occurs, I am delighted by the immense force that nature has to replenish and re-emerge anew. Being able to count on the small miracles of leafing out and blooming helps to give stability in an unstable world. Tending a garden is not only therapeutic for our soul, but also will help heal your local environment.

Spring Cleaning For Habitat

By Andrea andrea • April 28, 2025

Spring is an amazing time of year to witness rebirth and transformation in the garden. Buds are swelling, flowers are beginning to bloom and butterflies are starting the procession of early, mid and late seasonal emergence into the garden! All of the subtle and beautiful change that happens day to day draws us gardeners out into the garden to witness the fullness of spring. During March, we see a chorus of changes in the garden, each element playing in harmony. Paying close attention to how your garden is changing and developing during this season can help you to become a better guardian for habitat protection. In Mariposa’s newsletters and articles , we discuss that in order to protect habitat in the winter garden, one must be very careful. Many grown pollinators and butterflies, as well as their dormant eggs gather protection under the leaves and in the dried stems of flowering perennials such as Echinacea (purple coneflower) and Rudbeckia (black eyed Susan).