A group of students has started a new program, called Project Xeri, to address the issue of water use in Denver through water-conserving landscaping practices, outreach and education in a local school, and media outreach in conjunction with Denver Water.
According to Project Xeri’s Head of Marketing and Communications Jill Hamilton, a sophomore environmental science and strategic communications major, the population of Denver is growing exponentially, which is complicating issues like water use and conservation.
“Water use is one of the major challenges for the Denver community right now,” said Hamilton.
Project Xeri is designed to address this problem through a multifaceted approach that will include several initiatives for water conservation and management. The first, according to Hamilton, is a push for better landscaping practices. Project Xeri will create an example of water-friendly landscaping (known as xeriscaping) by creating a design for the yard of a University-owned rental property on High Street. This project is designed to allow the community to see what a yard designed to conserve water might look like.
“A lot of people have this preconceived notion of cacti in your front yard with rocks and gravel and it’s not that way at all,” said Hamilton.
She says instead, the model yard will use native species in its landscaping, which use significantly less water than the non-native grasses often used in yards. These native species include several varieties of wildflowers as well as grasses that can look very similar to the green, non-native ones commonly used in yards.
Hamilton says another important aspect of water-friendly landscaping is balancing between species. For example, she says a yard might have one section with native wildflowers, which require a little more water, balanced by a section with another species that uses very little water.
“Fifty-four percent of water use in Colorado is for lawns,” said Hamilton. “But it’s not natural to have a green lawn here.”
The example yard will also include a drip irrigation system, which is an alternative to traditional sprinklers that reduces the amount of water lost to evaporation.
Another initiative by Project Xeri will be community engagement through education programs at local schools, which will include a garden being planted at Thomas Jefferson High School.
Additionally, the group will be assisting Denver Water with a media outreach campaign, including the design of informational tools such as brochures and videos. The students are also working with DU Property Management, DU Facilities and Landscaping and Denver Public Schools to accomplish the goals of Project Xeri.
So far, Hamilton says people have been very excited about Project Xeri. After the group presented the project at a Sustainability Council-sponsored “Teach-in Tuesday,” Hamilton says there was a lot of interest in the project from students and the community.
“The level of response and excitement that we’ve had is really, really encouraging,” Hamilton said.
Chelsea Warren, Head of Finance for Project Xeri, says that engaging the community was one of the aspects of the project that she was especially excited about.
“We knew we would have a product at the end of the year, but we could expand on it and reach out into the community as well,” Warren said.
In addition to Hamilton and Warren, the group includes sophomores Allison Boyd, Annalee Ring and Jessie Anderson. Most of the members are majoring in the sciences or environmental sciences and Hamilton says all of them are interested in sustainability issues.
Warren says she thinks the skills she learned in this project will help her in the future.
“Plugging into the sustainability community was huge,” she said. “I think in college you learn about all the problems, but this project was a great way to see what everyone else is doing and find ways to really help fix these problems.”
Looking ahead, Hamilton says the group sees this initiative having the potential to be very successful in Denver.
“Unlike a lot of environmental projects in sustainability that people see as hugging trees, this is Denver water,” said Hamilton. “We’re talking about the well-being of everyone—it goes much further than just saving water for fish or for wildlife. It’s really about having a balance between natural resources and community success.”
The group is currently looking for volunteers to help with planting and outreach. More information can be found on the Project Xeri Facebook page.
