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Rainwater Harvesting - Design & Installation LIVE 2023


Learn how to harvest, store and use rainwater safely and effectively at any scale of application.

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Why rainwater harvesting is becoming an essential practice

Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.
 
The global water shortage and many local restrictions are becoming all too common. What was once unimaginable is now a common occurrence for countries, regions, cities and people - not enough water to live on. 

Rainwater harvesting is a viable and now practiced trade that anyone can learn to apply at the personal, professional, municipal or institute level if you have the right information and instructor. 

Gord Baird is an American Rain Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) Accredited Professional ASSE Certified International Rainwater Designer and Installer and has actively designed and installed dozens of rainwater harvesting systems for potable and irrigation use at all scales of application. 
This course is for anyone who sees that learning to harvest, store and use rainwater safely is a valuable skill for their professional or livelihood.
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Learn how to:

 research, design, install and maintain 

rainwater harvesting systems.

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NOTE: Learning how to use the program Sketch Up to render your designs is not part of this course. 

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Write your awesome label here.
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Who is this workshop for?

This workshop is for a wide range of people from differing contexts, including but not limited to:

-  Anyone faced with dwindling or limited water sources;
- Regulators that are seeking to learn more about alternative waste management trends;
- Professionals working remotely who have moved to their summer cottages and now need to address their lack of water;
- Home Builders/contractors (timber-frame, log home, natural builders) working on remote islands;
- Engineers; 
- Homeowners who are thinking about building;
- Tiny homes on wheels seeking to ensure their systems are mobile;
- Temporary camps seeking a responsible method to deal with water needs and otherwise harmful wastes;
- Architects & Waste Water Designers, or professional associations seeking a course to meet annual training needs; 
- People with water issues and a lack of water who want to improve their water systems; and
- Permaculture designers and educators.
NOTE - No previous knowledge of rainwater harvesting is required to attend this workshop.

Learn how to create and maintain rainwater harvesting systems!

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Write your awesome label here.
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Course Sessions and Content

Course Logistics

2023 Session Schedule

Class 1 - April 20 - Introduction to Rainwater Harvesting
Class 2 - April 27 - Rain 101
Class 3 - May 4 - System Components - Collection & Conveyance 
Class 4 - May 11 - System Components - Storage and Water Balance 
Class 5 - May 18 - System Components - Supply & Treatment
Class 6 - May 25 - Design Steps 
Class 7 - June 1 - Installation, Maintenance, Alternative Storage and Conservation
Class 8 - June 8 - Design Feedback, Feedback and Next Steps

WHEN

Thursdays at 6pm PT, 7pm MT, 8pm CT, 9pm ET

60 Minutes of Presentation 
20 Student Group Discussion
30 Minutes of Q&A 

WHERE

Online and accessible from anywhere in the world via Zoom Video Conference Software. All classes are recorded and participants have lifetime access.

Live Support

Each class will be a tailored presentation, walking you step by step through design and implementation.

Tools and Resources

Tools and resources that will help you determine the right steps to take and in what order.

Community

A community of peers who are on the same journey as you, to interact with and learn from.

Pricing

REGULAR PRICE - $349 USD
EARLY BIRD - $249 USD end April 9th 2023

NOTE - Payment plans are available for an additional 15% fee.
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Don't hesitate

Timing doesn't work for you? Don't worry, each session is recorded and you have lifetime access!

Who is the course a good fit for?

This course may be of use to you if you are:
  • interested in learning how to design for your unique context;
  • feel ready to put the information gained in the course to practical use; 
  • ready to learn;
  • excited to dive into the possibilities of different rainwater harvesting systems;
  • realistic in your expectations, or willing to have your expectations of what's possible challenged.

Who is this course NOT a good fit for?

  • You have no time, you're enrolled in 50 online courses this year and this will be but another course that you don't attend.
  • Those who think rainwater harvesting is a cool idea, but have no desire to build your skill or capacity to design and implement these essential elements.
  • Anyone who thinks rainwater harvesting is the only way to meet the water needs of a site. Rainwater capture and use is one way to do so, and effective implementation and management is critical to its success.
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Learn from Instructors who can save you hundreds of hours of mistakes

"We all learn from mistakes, they just don't have to be our own."

Meet the instructorS

Gord Baird

Gord Baird’s background and experiences stem from building the Eco-Sense homestead, a Living Building Challenge project that includes net zero water and waste systems, located in the District of Highlands on Vancouver Island. Addressing sustainable building, waste and water systems in the context of conventional codes and standards spawned an interest to change policy. An unexpected career developed from the passion to stir the pot of sustainable water stewardship, compost toilets, policy and governance. He is an American Rain Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) Accredited Professional and has actively designed and installed dozens of rainwater harvesting systems for potable and irrigation use at all application scales.

Gord’s policy work includes being a technical editor of the Province of BC’s regulations on compost toilets and greywater, consulting for municipal and regional governments on rainwater harvesting for potable use and developing a non-potable water reuse guidebook for commercial and multi-family residential buildings for a regional government. He is elected municipal councillor, the 4-year vice-chair for the CRD Regional Water Supply Commission, and an 8-year commissioner for the Juan de Fuca Water Distribution Commission. Hands-on work includes co-authoring the Essential Composting Toilets book, designing and installing over 30 residential potable rainwater systems and strata small water systems. He is also an ASSE internationally certified rainwater harvesting designer and installer.
Patrick Jones - Course author
Patrick Jones - Course author
Patrick Jones - Course author
Meet the Host

Javan K. Bernakevitch

Javan Bernakevitch is a life and land designer, who speaks, writes, teaches and consults with clients, businesses and farms worldwide through All Points Design and RegenerativeLiving.online. 

He believes that if we don't design our lives, they'll be designed for us, and not for our benefit. He says, “If humans want to have a long life here on our planet, we best act like we are part of the ecology.” He works to ensure that his clients' lives and landscapes get better every year.

Integrating Keyline Design, Holistic Management, Permaculture, the Soil Food Web, Myco-Integration, Project Management and Business implementation, he understands and emphasizes the importance of balancing biological systems - soil, water-harvesting, landscape rehydration, composting, growing food and biological waste-water treatment - with financial viability. A career focus on regenerative retrofits has taken him across North and Central America, Europe and Africa.

Our students love us

Gord is gifted with a way of explaining that makes complex topics clear, and delivering the information in an insightful way that only someone with perceptive insight of his "audience" allows. His approach to sharing information is refreshing and liberating in its practicality and delivery. It gives me pleasure to be able to highly recommend his teachings.
TAtha
This deeply informative, fascinating workshop by Gord Baird of Eco-Sense Living, should be mandatory for everyone moving from a city to a gulf island, and certainly would be a great resource to teach self-sufficiency in the face of climate change, and toward next level protection of sensitive groundwater resources. 
Tobi
I've taken dozens of ecological design & permaculture workshops over the past 20 years and the workshops I've taken with Gord (water harvesting & integrated landscape systems) stand out at the top of the pack. His passion, thorough research and most of all his unique project experiences add up to a learning environment that is difficult to match. I highly recommend learning from Gord. 
Tayler Krawczyk

Learn how to:

 research, design, install and maintain 

rainwater harvesting systems.

Write your awesome label here.

NOTE: Learning how to use the program Sketch Up to render your designs is not part of this course. 

Frequently asked questions

Do I need any experience to take this course?

Absolutely not! No previous experience is necessary!

Can I message you with questions?

We have a community section in our course where you can ask questions lesson by lesson or on a topic. 

Will have lifetime access to the course material?

YES! You'll have lifetime access to the course. 

Is the course refundable?

The course is non-refundable.

Can my spouse, partner, friend, dog look over my shoulder while I take the course?

Yes! Your registration allows for one "over the shoulder" viewing of the course. We ask you not to share your login information with anyone else. 
Don't hesitate

Learn how to create and implement rainwater harvesting systems. 

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