CSUSB Presents Art in the Garden

SAN BERNARDINO >> The new works of Cal State San Bernardino (CSUSB) art students will be showcased when the university’s Water Resources Institute (WRI) presents “Art in the Garden” on Friday, June 9. The open house will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. at the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation Demonstration Garden at CSUSB, located at the north end of parking Lot G. Appetizers, desserts, and wine will be served. To support garden workshops and care, an optional $50 per person suggested donations, made out to the “Water Resources Institute,” will be accepted at the event. Parking for the demonstration garden is complimentary. Visit the parking information center located on Coyote Drive off Northpark Boulevard and pick up a free daily parking pass. “Art in the Garden” showcases CSUSB student works of art by bringing water leaders, students, staff, faculty, and the community together. In addition to showcasing art, each of the WRI’s annual donors will have the opportunity to speak to attendees about their agency. The WRI is a place to convene, to study, to meet challenges, and to solve problems related to the most critical of water issues: water resources. More than ever before—in the San Bernardino Valley, the Santa Ana Watershed and all of Southern California and the southwest—water resource management, conservation and wise use will determine the capacity for quality growth and economic development. The WRI offers the ideal environment for ongoing progress in meeting water resources challenges. With a ground breaking in 2010, the San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation Demonstration garden launched a partnership between the university, the WRI, and several community associates who sought to educate San Bernardino Valley residents about ways to lower their outdoor water consumption. One way to do this is by replacing irrigated grass with water-wise landscaping. A lack of knowledge about planning, building, and maintaining these landscapes persists, says the WRI, along with the misconception that saving water on landscapes limits homeowners to cactus. The garden was built to show that plant lovers have many colorful ways to make their landscapes beautiful. The garden was built without state funds, with major donations from San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, and Inland Empire Resource Conservation District. In-kind gifts included labor, soil, plants, signage, and technical advice.