• Sustainable Landscaping, 2024
  Learn ways to create and maintain a sustainable landscape that include optimizing your water use, choosing the right plants, keeping rainwater onsite, and improving pollinator/wildlife habitat.
  Sustainable Landscaping Presentation (PDF)

• Plant Selection and Drought Tolerant Landscaping, 2015
  UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden Nursery Manager Taylor Lewis talks about the benefits of drought tolerant landscaping. Learn about proper plant selection, the UC Davis Arboretum All Stars and California native plants.

• Tree Selection, Watering and Care, 2021
  Tree Davis partnered with the City of Davis to share information on selecting the right tree for the right place, proper tree planting techniques, and how to care for young trees to ensure they reach their full mature potential. Learn more about Tree Davis and find tips on tree planting, tree care and helping your trees survive drought on the Tree Davis website. 
  Tree Selection, Watering and Care Presentation (PDF)

• May the Trees Be With You, 2018 Trees provide clean air, beauty, wildlife habitats and they reduce energy costs associated with heating and cooling buildings. Join us at a class to learn more about the trees that surround us: how to choose the right trees, how to prune, mulch and water trees, and about the habitats that our urban forest provides to local wildlife.
  

  May the Trees Be With You Presentation (PDF) 

• Taking Care of Your Trees in a Drought, 2015
  Trees provide many long-term benefits, including shading our homes and reducing energy costs, providing beauty, and more. Although we all need to reduce irrigation and start switching to drought tolerant landscaping, it’s important to remember that trees still need care and water during the drought to stay alive. City Urban Forest Manager Rob Cain will lead this workshop on caring for your trees during the drought, looking for signs of distress and various watering techniques to help our urban forest get through this drought.

Caring for Trees in a Drought - Part 1 (32 minutes)

Caring for Trees in a Drought - Part 2 (41 minutes)

• Backyard Composting, 2024 
  In addition to learning the basics of traditional backyard composting, this class emphasizes simple, pest-free methods of composting food scraps via worm composting, home-made food digesters and in-ground composting! 
  Backyard Composting Class Presentation (PDF)
  
  
• Zero Waste Made Easy, 2020
  If you've been wanting to shrink your environmental footprint by reducing the amount of stuff you throw away each week, this class is for you! This class provides a look at simple steps towards going zero waste that are hassle free and easy to accomplish.
  Zero Waste Made Easy Presentation (PDF)

• Avoiding Conflicts with Wildlife, 2020
  Urban areas provide food, cover, and water to a wide variety of wildlife species. Davis is home to wildlife, including turkeys, coyotes, squirrels, hawks, bats, and owls. Learn about our urban wildlife, common conflicts we have with them and how we can coexist peacefully.
  Avoiding Conflicts With Wildlife Presentation (PDF)
  
  
• Living with Urban Wildlife, 2015
  Learn about common urban wildlife that live in Davis, some of the conflicts we have with them and tips for coexistence

Avoiding Conflicts With Wildlife - Part 1 (44 minutes)

Avoiding Conflicts With Wildlife - Part 2 (41 minutes)

• Fantastic Pests and How to Control Them, 2017
  Learn about Integrated Pest Management, an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. This presentation focuses on the usual pests found in Davis homes and gardens.
  Fantastic Pests and How To Control Them Presentation (PDF)

• Integrated Pest Management for the Home Gardener, 2015
  Learn about Integrated Pest Management, an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management that relies on a combination of common-sense practices. This presentation focuses on the usual pests found in Davis homes and gardens.

• Stormwater Pollution Prevention: Only Rain Down the Drain, 2020
  Where does pollution in our waterways come from? How can we reduce the amount of plastics in the ocean?  This class provided an overview of how the decisions that we make in our day-to-day lives can either protect or pollute our waterways. 
  Stormwater Pollution Prevention (PDF)

• Leak Detection and the City’s Customer Water Use Portal, AquaHawk, 2022
  The City offers a powerful tool to assist in finding leaks through the customer water-use portal (AquaHawk). Learn how to use AquaHawk to check for leaks and get tips on how to repair common leaks around the home.
  Leak Detection and AquaHawk Presentation (PDF)
  
  
• Water-Wise Landscaping, 2015
  Your lawn's gone... now what? If you've removed your lawn and are now wondering what to do, join Ellen Zagory, Director of Public Horticulture for the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, at this workshop on October 6. She will discuss water-wise plant choices and landscape layout and design to turn your yard into a beautiful water-wise landscape.

• Lawn Conversion, 2015
  Have you considered removing your lawn? If so, don’t miss this workshop! Kerry Daane Loux, local landscape architect specializing in sustainable design and City Park Planner, will talk about different lawn removal techniques, and perhaps more importantly, drought friendly replacements for a lawn.
  
  

• AquaHawk Information Sessions, 2017 
  The City held two information sessions to help residents learn about the useful features of AquaHawk. The training sessions covered how to sign up and set alerts for high water use, help on how to detect possible water leaks, and more. Please note that if you are not the property owner for the water account with the city, you will need the account information from the owner to be able to complete the registration process and use the web portal. 
  AquaHawk Information Session Presentation (PDF)

• Life After Lawn, 2106
  Ellen Zagory, Director of Public Horticulture for the UC Davis Arboretum showed how to create attractive, low-water, easy-care, pollinator-friendly landscapes with plants perfect for our Central Valley conditions.
  "Life After Lawn" presentation (PDF)  "Life After Lawn" resource list (PDF)

• Greywater Showcase, 2021
  Water Wise Davis, a working group of Cool Davis, partnered with Tree Davis and the City of Davis to host the fifth annual Greywater Showcase in 2021. The theme of this year was meeting tree watering needs with greywater and featured Don Shor (Redwood Barn Nursery and the Davis Garden Show) and Leslie Crenna (Greywater Designer and Cool Davis Communications Manager).

Presentation videos: 

• Greywater Showcase 2021 Part 1: Dawn Calciano and Don Shor 
• Greywater Showcase 2021 Part 2: Leslie Crenna and giveaway

Presentation PDFs:

• City of Davis Water Updates (Dawn Calciano)
• Greywater in the Landscape (Don Shor)
• Residential Greywater Basics (Leslie Crenna)

• Greywater Showcase 2020: Growing Healthy Food
  Water Wise Davis, a working group of Cool Davis, partnered with the City of Davis to host the fourth annual Greywater Showcase on Wednesday, July 22, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. The theme of this year was the connection between greywater and growing your own healthy food.
  
  
• Greywater Showcase 2019
  Water Wise Davis, a working group of Cool Davis, partnered with the City of Davis to host the third annual Greywater Showcase on Wednesday, July 24, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The theme of this year was Case Studies, Shining a Light on What Systems Look Like as Installed in a Home. For more information on greywater and to view presentations from the 2019 Greywater Showcase, see the Cool Davis newsletter. 
  
  
• Greywater Showcase 2018: Shower greywater systems
  Water Wise Davis, a working group of Cool Davis, partnered with the City of Davis to host a Greywater Showcase on Thursday, July 19. The theme for the showcase was shower greywater systems. The Greywater Showcase featured a short presentation about water reuse, the potential for greywater in our community, and the two basic types of greywater systems; a presentation and discussion about possible community level greywater ordinances; a panel of greywater system service providers and owners; demonstration systems; and time to talk with City of Davis building department and public works staff, system owners, Water Wise Davis members, and service providers.
  
  
• Cool Davis Greywater Showcase 2017
  Cool Davis in partnership with Water-Wise Davis (a water focused working group of Cool Davis) and support from the City of Davis hosted a Greywater Showcase on July 12, 2017. The event included a brief presentation about the types of greywater systems with a focus on laundry-to-landscape systems.  There was a question and answer panel with greywater system owners and time to ask questions of City of Davis Building Department and Public Works staff, system owners, Water Wise Davis members and vendors.

• EcoAssistant Greywater System Overview Presentation
• City permit requirements for greywater systems.
• Visit Cool Davis for more information on their programs.
• Alliance for Water Efficiency Graywater Report

• All About EPA: How Does EPA Protect the Environment Activity Book Learn the basics about how EPA protects our health and environment. https://www.epa.gov/students/how-does-epa-protect-environment-activity-book-children
• Climate Kids: NASA's Eyes on the Earth Geared toward students, the multimedia-rich Climate Kids site uses games, humorous illustrations and animations to help break down the important issue of climate change. Ideal for kids grade 3-7. http://climatekids.nasa.gov/
• Energy Kids What is energy? Challenge yourself to riddles, puzzles, and science experiments. http://www.eia.gov/kids/energy.cfm?page=5
• National Institute of Environmental Health Science Kids' Page Games, puzzles, art, and more all about science, the environment, and environmental careers. https://kids.niehs.nih.gov/games/index.htm
• Nonpoint Source Pollution Awareness Word Search Puzzle Can you find the words? https://www.epa.gov/nps/nonpoint-source-pollution-awareness-word-search-puzzle
• Ozone Crossword Puzzle If you're good with words, and think you know all about the ozone layer (or want to learn more), then you're sure to enjoy this crossword puzzle. https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-protection/ozone-science-crossword-puzzle
• Particulate Matter (PM) Air Sensor Kits Particle pollution known as particulate matter (PM) is one of the major air pollutants regulated by EPA to protect public health and the environment. Build your own air sensor kit to investigate particulate pollution. https://www.epa.gov/air-research/air-quality-and-energy-choice-stem-activities-educators
• SciJinks- It's all about weather! Games all about weather and science! https://scijinks.gov/menu/games/

• Save Davis Water Games Stop water waste by finding and fixing water leaks around town in the Plug the Leaks game. You can also learn more about making water conservation a way of life with Match the Facts.  http://games.cityofdavis.org/savedaviswater/
• How much water do you use each day? Here’s an interesting activity to try at home with your kids: have them guess how many gallons of water they use every day, then have them keep track of their water use. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/ws-ourwater-drop-2-worksheet.pdf
• Water conservation math game for kids: have them calculate how much water they use when they shower. They can see how much water they can save when they cut their shower time by just one minute! https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/ws-ourwater-shower-better-learning-resource_0.pdf
• A Water leak activity page for kids from EPA WaterSense: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/ws-ourwater-falw-activitypage.pdf
•  Project WET: Discover Water! If you are looking for a great resource for kids to learn about the water cycle, using water wisely, soap science and more, check out the Project WET Discover Water website: https://www.discoverwater.org/
• Test your water knowledge Here’s a fun worksheet from the EPA WaterSense program that will help your kids understand where their water comes from, where it goes when it goes down the drain, and how the ways they use water affect the environment. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/ws-ourwater-drop-1-worksheet.pdf Here’s the teaching guide for parents that goes with it: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2017-02/documents/ws-ourwater-drop-guide.pdf
• Go with the Flow Let NASA teach you all about the flow of water. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/ocean-currents/en

• Outdoor Scavenger Hunt Take some time to investigate the natural environment around Davis with this scavenger hunt.
• Local Bird Checklists Use these checklists to find local birds in your backyard, greenbelts and open spaces, or nearby waterways.
• Coyote Projects Here's a fun wildlife project that tests your coordinate graphing skills. We also have coloring pages and a word search.
• Bird watching Whether you are in your backyard or taking a stroll around Davis’ many parks and greenbelts, you are certain to see birds. Do you know what they’re called? Where do they nest? What do they eat? Learning to identify birds can be fun and rewarding. Here are some tips for getting started as a birdwatcher:
  • Binoculars are super helpful for seeing and identifying birds. Especially ones that are high up in a tree.
    Find and use a good bird identification guide. Some suggestions include: National Geographic’s Guide to North American Birds, Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America, Peterson’s Guide to Birds of North America.  There are several good mobile apps available as well. Search “bird guides” in your mobile app store.
  •  Bring a pad of paper along to log the birds you see and other notes about what they were doing, etc. You may even be able to sketch out some features of a bird to help with identification at a later time.
  • Bird Bingo - Try your luck at Bird Bingo! Use the bingo cards at this link and work on filling in as many boxes as possible. Can you get Bingo?
• American Museum of Natural History-https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology
• Exploring nature in your backyard: From the CA State Parks Foundation, here's lots of activities for kids: https://kids.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=25384
• Home learning activities From the CA State Parks Foundation: http://www.ports.parks.ca.gov
• Match the animal tracks game From the CA State Parks Foundation: http://kids.parks.ca.gov/pages/22784/files/ActivityAnimalPrints.pdf 
• Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute – https://www.si.edu/kids 
• Meet the animals of the Smithsonian National Zoo: https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/list
• Cornell Bird Lab – https://www.birds.cornell.edu/k12/get-started/
• Smokey for Kids Explore the different sections of the website to learn all sorts of ways you can help prevent wildfires. You’ll find activities, games, and learn a lot about protecting the forest. Have fun! https://smokeybear.com/en/smokey-for-kids
• The Migration Game Help Wanda the Wood Thrush travel from her winter home in Costa Rica to her summer home in Maryland. All you need to do is answer some questions about migratory birds. Each correct answer will bring her closer to her favorite forest where she'll be able to find a mate, build a nest, and lay her eggs! https://nationalzoo.si.edu/migratory-birds/play-migration-game
• Yellowstone Park - For Kids! Explore Yellowstone National Park online games and activities. Then look for kids' activities at other National Parks. https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/kidsyouth/index.htm
• Habitats Do you know where the red-eyed tree frog calls home? Play this game based on animal habitats to learn! Explore the desert, coral reef, jungle, and marsh to discover where many animals live by matching each animal to its correct habitat! https://ssec.si.edu/habitats

• Online Zero Waste Games! Test your waste sorting knowledge with the Zero Waste Sorting Game and try and sort recycling, compost and trash into the correct bins before the time runs out!  Learn more about sorting your waste with Zero Waste Matching. http://games.cityofdavis.org/zerowastegames/ 
  
• Hazardous Waste Coloring Book CalRecycle has a coloring book for kids that you can download and print to teach children about household hazardous waste: https://www2.calrecycle.ca.gov/Publications/Details/130.  It’s also available in Spanish: Casa Segura, Estoy Seguro!
• Recycle City There's lots to do at Recycle City—an online game from the US EPA.  In this game there are people and places to visit, as well as plenty of ways to explore how the city's residents recycle, reduce, and reuse waste.  In addition to the game itself, the website also has other in-home activities available.  https://www3.epa.gov/recyclecity/