Come get inspired at this two-household family compound! Three years ago, Melanie & Nick bought the house next door for her parents. In the years since then, they have been working to transform the formerly all-gravel backyard into a pollinator- and people-friendly space with shade, food, flowers, and habitat for birds & humans. Between the two houses, they have removed over 1000 square feet of asphalt and over 2500 square feet of gravel, replacing both with water-permeable, organic mulch. And there's still 2000 square feet of asphalt to go!

Yard with greenery, pool with cover, orange rain tank, and pathways
Melanie & Nick had a bolt-on pool cover installed asap after buying the house next door, which has dramatically reduced the pool's water and chemical use, while simultaneously serving as an additional rainwater catchment area. The pool cover reduced their water use by about 10,000 gallons a year while also adding 2,500 gallons in rainwater harvested from on top of it and 2,000 gallons of low-chemical pool backwash water suitable for plants. The pool cover manufacturer, Solar Safe Pool Covers, will be on hand to answer questions about the cover.

In addition, the two homes feature laundry to landscape greywater, three rain tanks, gravity-fed olla irrigation, an outdoor clawfoot tub and shower, a urigator, rain basins, and a landscape focused on edible native & non-native plants.

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