Ewing joins other turf and landscape businesses in the PLANET Day of Service by offering help and hope to families and communities in need.
April 19, 2011, Phoenix, Ariz.—On Earth Day, April 22, Ewing Irrigation Products will complete four landscape renovations benefiting community service organizations located in Arizona, California, Washington and Texas.
In support of the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Day of Service, Ewing is joining hundreds of other lawn and landscape industry businesses by participating in the nationwide grassroots initiative to give back to their communities on Earth Day by planning, organizing and carrying out green service projects.
“With each project we looked for opportunities to incorporate water efficient products and education for the community,” said Warren Gorowitz, vice president of sustainability and conservation for Ewing. The projects contain water saving and sustainable products, such as high efficiency sprinkler nozzles, "smart" controllers, drip irrigation, LED landscape lighting and rainwater harvesting.
Joined by local landscape contractors and manufacturers offering additional support with materials, equipment and labor, Ewing’s Day of Service projects include:
Desert Open Space Sustainable Education Center in Mesa, Ariz.
At Superstition Farm, Ewing will help establish a permaculture garden and educational space for students, teachers and the community, headed up by the East Maricopa Natural Resource Conservation District. For this unique desert teaching garden, Ewing and partnering volunteers will install an extensive low-volume drip irrigation system powered by a solar controller, as well as a solar LED landscape lighting system. A solar panel will be installed in the garden to provide power to the landscape lights and an irrigation system will be controlled through ambient light. The team will fill in the garden pathways with granite and complete other site enhancements.
Loaves & Fishes Edible Landscape in Sacramento, Calif.
In downtown Sacramento, Loaves & Fishes “feeds the hungry and shelters the homeless.” Ewing will help create a therapeutic horticulture installation and an edible landscape in raised beds for the organization, as well as complete irrigation system repairs and upgrades, and outfit a patio garden with self-watering pots and planters. The project will help provide fresh vegetables for visitors and present an opportunity for community members in need to gain hands-on experience in gardening and cultivating.
Housing Hope’s Oakes Avenue Commons Landscape Renewal in Everett, Wash.
Housing Hope’s Oakes Avenue Commons offers low-income families an affordable, safe place to live. Ewing will offer this small community some much-needed site improvements—including an irrigation system, soil amendments, upgrades to existing raised vegetable garden beds and more—as well as provide hands-on education to residents who will maintain and benefit from the gardens.
SpiritHorse Therapeutic Riding Facility in Corinth, Tex.
SpiritHorse offers free equine therapy for children with disabilities, primarily those with autism and cerebral palsy. Ewing will assist this riding center with vital irrigation upgrades for one of their main pastures, provide mulch and topdressing for landscaped areas, and install a rainwater harvesting system, landscape lighting system and water feature.
Last year about 3,000 PLANET members participated in the second annual Day of Service by giving back to their communities on Earth Day. Assisted by a team of volunteers and partners, Ewing’s 2010 project focused on the installation of a water efficient landscape for an active duty military family in Surprise, Ariz.
Members of the media are invited to attend the events, interview participants and experience the finished projects. For more information, please contact Lacy Ravencraft, public relations manager for Ewing, at 602.437.9530 or at lravencraft@ewingirrigation.com. For more information about the PLANET Day of Service, log on to planetdayofservice.org.
About Ewing: A Premier Supplier and Quality Education Provider
Ewing is the largest family-owned supplier of landscape and water management products in the country. With 200 locations nationwide, Ewing offers commercial and residential irrigation supplies, water management solutions, landscape and turf products, hardscape, landscape lighting, water features, erosion control, industry-leading seminars and more to professionals serving the landscaping, sports turf, golf, agricultural and industrial industries.
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