CONSERVATION PRACTICES AT RAVEN’S NEST

Rainwater Harvesting Techniques

At Raven’s Nest Nature Sanctuary we’ve minimized the need for irrigation by planting only native species with low-water requirements and by using both active & passive rainwater harvesting techniques.  Since our arrival in March 2008, we’ve designed all our rehabilitated Wildlife Habitat, Organic Food Gardens, and our Organic Orchards to benefit from these methods.  We practice efficient, deep watering with the rainwater that we harvest and store during the monsoon and winter rains.  The results have been both tangible and delicious in the form of food, as well as beautiful in terms of wildlife!

At our Sky Islands Discovery Center we have installed an active rainwater harvesting system, utilizing the building’s 2,000 sq. ft. metal roof.  Thus, we are able to actively harvest over 20,000 gallons of precious rainwater during larger storms, piping it into Dragon Pond.  From there the water is then pumped into 2 large metal cisterns for storage and subsequent use.  Most of our re-used rainwater benefits our Organic Garden as well as numerous wildlife habitat plantings around the Sky Islands Discovery Center.

Additionally, we collect large amounts of rainwater through our extensive passive harvesting system of earthen berms throughout our 42-acre Nature Sanctuary.  These carefully hand-constructed mounds of earth benefit numerous plants by allowing rainwater that would otherwise run off to soak into the ground instead.

Together, our active and passive Rainwater Harvesting Systems greatly benefit a broad spectrum of native plants and wildlife.