Organizers continue to take reservations for the 2017 Children’s Water Education Festival, scheduled for March 29 and 30 at UC Irvine’s Aldrich Park. Teachers of third through fifth grade students within the Irvine Ranch Water District service area are encouraged to register for the event before the December 16 deadline.

The Festival presents a unique opportunity to educate students about local water issues and help them understand how they can protect water supplies and their environment. Since its inception 21 years ago more than 115,000 children from schools throughout Orange County have been able to experience the Festival and all it has to offer.

The 2016 festival hosted students from nearly 75 public, private and home schools from 20 Orange County cities. More than 65 organizations devoted their time and resources to assist in educating budding young environmental stewards. A total of 652 students from the IRWD service area attended the two-day event in 2016.

The Festival is provided at no cost to Orange County schools. Third through fifth grade teachers and students are invited to attend. Go to the festival’s website for information and to register for the event.

Next time you visit IRWD’s San Joaquin Marsh, be sure to stop by the new demonstration garden. This garden contains more than three dozen plant varieties that illustrate how colorful and practical drought-tolerant landscaping can be.

The new garden’s distinctive feature is a river rock storm water bioswale, which serves to collect irrigation and rain water and allowing it to percolate into the ground instead of running into the storm drains.

This demonstration garden showcases a hybrid of native and non-native drought-tolerant plants that would work well in any Southern California yard. Each plant is identified with a plant marker and QR bar code to scan for mobile access and plant care information.

The demonstration garden is located between the pink San Joaquin Marsh House visitors center and the green caretaker’s house. The garden was planted in September and it should take about two years for the plants to fully mature and fill in.

You can visit the garden and the Marsh 365 days a year, dawn to dusk.

If you would like to see a demonstration garden that has matured, stop by our Sand Canyon headquarters office and visit the garden that was planted two years ago.

Visit our RightScape website for more water-saving information.

Annual Food Drive: Irvine Ranch Water District Helps Feed Hungry

In this festive season of giving, it’s hard to believe that many people in Orange County don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Once again, IRWD is holding a food drive to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County from November 14-December 2.

Collection boxes are set up in the IRWD lobby, outside the doors of the Human Resources office. Customers who might be visiting IRWD to pay their bills or conduct any other business, are invited to help us help others.

Please bring in any non-perishable or non-refrigerated item from now until December 2. The focus is on providing healthier items that are low in sugar and sodium and high in protein and fiber.

If you are stumped on what would be acceptable, here are some ideas:

Peanut or other nut butters; canned low sodium vegetables; brown rice; canned fruit packed in water, or natural applesauce; dried or low sodium canned beans; whole grain cereal; canned or boxed soup; whole grain pasta; canned meats and fish packed in water, and healthy snacks such as low sugar granola bars raw nuts or dried fruit.

Please don’t bring expired items, or items in glass containers.

In addition, personal items such as diapers, toothbrushes and toothpaste, toilet paper and feminine hygiene products are also very much appreciated.

Together, we can help those less fortunate. Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County began its work in 1983 and currently distributes food through a network of more than 180 community partners distributing food in more than 240 locations throughout Orange County.

The 1927 invention of the garbage disposal has made life easier for many, but Irvine Ranch Water District reminds customers at this time of the year that this important appliance can also cause many headaches if used improperly. In addition, fats, oils and grease, or FOG, poured down the drain is the leading cause of sewer spills.

Despite what you might hear, not everything can go into a garbage disposal. And fats, oils and grease should never be poured down the drain.

Over time, the grease sticks to sewer pipes and when it builds up, blocks the entire pipe, resulting in costly repairs and cleanups.

To prevent problems, here are tips for getting rid of left over cooking grease and more tips on what not to put into a garbage disposal:

• Place left over grease into containers with lids, such as jars, and place into a trash receptacle for pick up on trash day.
• Mix oils with absorbent materials, such as coffee grounds, put in a lidded container and dispose with the trash.
• If cleaning a greasy pan, pour grease into a container and wipe excess grease from the pan with paper towels. Place the towels into the trash.
• If using a deep fat fryer, mix oils with absorbent material, such as cat litter, or soak up excess oil with newspaper and put into the trash.
• Do not put rice or pasta down the garbage disposal. No matter how long the appliance runs or how much water is run down the drain, rice and pasta will never break down small enough.
• Do not put any animal bones, skin or fat down the disposal.
• Do not put egg shells down the disposal. Contrary to some information out there, egg shells do not sharpen the blades of the disposal.
• Do not put any kind of stringy vegetables, such as asparagus or celery down the disposal.
• Peelings or rinds of any kind, such as from potatoes, carrots or those from fruit, should never be put down the disposal.
• In addition, when using the disposal, put in only small amounts of table scraps at a time.
• When in doubt, play it safe and put scraps into the trash can.

For more information about the FOG program, please visit our website.