Erin Axelrod

Dunbar/Spring Neighborhood Foresters based in Tucson, Arizona has been collaborating with neighbors since 1996 to plant over 1,800 native food- & medicine-bearing trees, thousands of multi-use native understory plants; & plants over a million gallons of stormwater annually through water-harvesting earthworks & rain gardens beside the street & in the street that freely irrigate plantings, recharge our aquifer, & reduce downstream flooding. This work has transformed previously hot, barren public walkways & streets into shaded oases full of life where native wildlife including songbirds, butterflies, & lizards have returned. Our organization aims to bring back life in public commons in a regenerative way that enhances health, builds community, & improves water security & flood mitigation for all. We then share how other can similarly legalize, incentive, & even mandate such practices in their communities. Co-founder Brad is author of "Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond"