Please note that all classes are subject to change of format from live to virtual due to COVID-19.
Water Saving Seminars
Using less water is not only good for the environment; it is also great for saving money on your water bill. The seminar series, taught by local and regional experts, covers a wide variety of landscape and gardening topics each year. Fort Worth Water Conservation staff attend each seminar in case you have questions about Fort Worth outdoor watering requirements and conservation programs.
Classes will be offered in-person (as allowable by COVID-19 restrictions) and online each month. Please register for only one option. Registration for in-person attendance will open one month prior to each event.
All in-person seminars are scheduled for Thursdays from 6-8 p.m. at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), 1700 University Drive.
WaterSense® Your Better Yard Two-Part Workshop
To help homeowners enhance their landscapes with water-saving techniques and technologies that fit their lifestyles and yard type, the EPA WaterSense® program has created the Your Better Yard campaign. Your Better Yard starts with the premise that making yards more attractive and functional can also save water, money and time with the right WaterSense®-labeled products and water-saving techniques included in homeowners’ landscape and irrigation plans.
Fort Worth Water Conservation and the Fort Worth Public Library are partnering to bring you a virtual two-part workshop taught by regional experts from Rooted In. This two-workshop series will examine the eight types of landscape lifestyles (4 in each session) and provide tips to help make you make your preferred landscape fit your lifestyle. Register here for both workshops.
Workshop One
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Workshop Two
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Date: July 31, 2021
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Date: August 7, 2021
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Time: 10:30-11:30 a.m.
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Time: 10:30-11:30 a.m.
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LifeStyle Landscapes
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LifeStyle Landscapes
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- Community Plot
- Family Fun
- Backyard Beauty
- Dog Digging Dilemma
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- Urban Oasis
- Playdate Priorities
- Landscape Luxury
- Low Maintenance Living
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Fort Worth Botanic Garden/BRIT educational classes
Fort Worth Water and the Fort Worth Botanic Garden/BRIT will offer six new classes during 2021. The classes will include both adult and family-oriented activities.
BRIT Adult Education
All adult education classes are virtual.
Thursday, June 17 (5:30-7:30 pm): Drip Irrigation DIY
Instructor: Rooted In
Make every drop count! Drip irrigation is the most efficient irrigation method of landscape beds, potted plants, vegetable gardens and home foundations. Whether you have an existing sprinkler system or an outdoor faucet, learn how to install, convert and maintain a drip irrigation system. The flow of information from our experts will make “do it yourself” drip irrigation easy. Register for the online class.
Thursday, July 22 (5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.): Gardening for Rainwater: BRIT Bioswales and Beyond
Instructor: Heather Bass, TRWD
Bioswales are garden features that use plants to naturally filter and direct rainwater. Learn about BRIT’s bioswales as well as other types of garden features used to control stormwater runoff. The class will feature the basics of how each garden type works, the main differences between them, design, plant selection and how to build your own stormwater control garden. Using the BRIT parking lot bioswales as examples, the class with virtually walk through the system and different types of plants in each one. Register for the online class.
Thursday, August 19 (10 a.m. to noon): Bulletproof Plants
Instructor: Rooted In
The harsh and unpredictable Texas climate is one of the greatest adversaries to a lush and vibrant landscape. Your greatest defense is to arm your landscape with plants that can withstand the barrage of heat and drought that the growing season is sure to bombard us with. We will cover our top 100 bulletproof plants, adapted to safeguarding your landscape against even the toughest conditions. You will also learn how proper soil preparation, proper planting and site selection can help you triumph against the toughest landscape conditions. We will also cover plant combinations that look their best together to bring peace and tranquility for a garden that is beautiful and healthy year-round. Register for the online class.
BRIT Family Education
Family classes are at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), 1700 University Drive.
Current capacity is 30 participants, based on current CDC guidelines. Maximum capacity may be adjusted depending on CDC guidelines at the time of the program.
Saturday, May 15th (10 a.m. to noon): Build Your Own Living Roof
Instructor: Brooke Best
Is it possible for a roof to be living? At the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT), it is!
Gather up your family to discover how a living roof is made possible and why they help us to conserve water. Get detailed information on the roof design and construction process. Meet the researcher who actively keeps up with what and who lives on the roof. Learn more about the rainwater that flows off the roof and where it goes all the while you are building your very own miniature living roof to take home.
Each family member must register separately. Register for this class.
Saturday, June 5th (10 a.m. to noon): Catch the Rain: DIY Rain Barrel Class
Instructor: RootedIn
This family workshop is sure to be a barrel of fun! Join us to learn simple techniques on how to divert, store and use one of nature’s best resources for the garden. We will tour the rainwater harvesting systems on the FWBG|BRIT campus and pour through the basics and benefits of rainwater harvesting. After learning about the different ways to harvest the rain, participants will receive materials to decorate their own rainwater harvesting system. Each participant will have the option to take home a 55-gallon rain barrel at $60 dollars each. Rain barrels are recycled food-grade containers, roughly 24” wide by 36” tall.
Each family member must register separately. Register for this class.
Saturday, July 24th (10 a.m. to noon): Bioswales & Raingardens
Instructor: Betsy Marsh & Heather Bass, TRWD
Rainwater is precious! How can we best conserve and care for it? At this family workshop, you will learn all about protecting our rainwater by playing “raindrop” games, conducting experiments, touring FWBG|BRIT’s beautiful campus with plants that capture and clean rainwater, and making your own special rain garden called a bioswale!
Each family member must register separately. Register for this class.
YardSmart Conferences
YardSmart is now a free, informative full-day conference designed to provide effective, beneficial ways to use water wisely in the landscape. Topics vary by season and have included butterfly gardening, landscape watering, container gardens, perennials, trees and much more. This semi-annual conference is offered each spring and fall.
Fall 2021
This is a new full-day, multi-track conference format, including a keynote speaker and classes in English and Spanish. Topics will be announced and registration will begin in early August.
Saturday, September 18, 2021
9 a.m.–4 p.m. (English)
9 a.m.–1 p.m. (Spanish)
Location: Fort Worth Botanic Garden*, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd.
Topics will be announced and registration will begin in August 2021.
Spring 2022
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Time: 9 a.m.–4 p.m. (English)
9 a.m.–1 p.m. (Spanish)
Location: Fort Worth Botanic Gardens*, 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd.
Topic announcement and registration will begin in January 2022.
*Facility is wheelchair accessible. To arrange for sign language interpretation, call TDD 817-392-8544 at least 72 hours prior to event.
Speaker's Bureau
When you turn on your tap for a drink of water, to take a shower or wash clothes, you take for granted that water will flow. Water is a precious natural resource that cannot be manufactured. It is important that we know how we can preserve and conserve it for now and future generations.
The Speakers Bureau provides an educational forum to heighten the awareness of water conservation and water quality issues. We provide speakers for neighborhood associations, churches, schools or social organizations at no charge. Request a Speaker.
Learning About Water at Home
Fort Worth Water has created a compilation of lesson plans and resources about water for parents and children learning together or teachers looking for lessons to supplement classroom curriculum. Lesson plans have been created by respected organization in the water field. Download the Resource Guide.(PDF, 3MB) Fort Worth Water has a certified teacher of staff to support you if needed.
Previous Classes & Events
Irrigation 101 workshops
Fort Worth Water and Tarrant Regional Water District (TRWD) have scheduled virtual sprinkler do-it-yourself workshops to help you get your sprinkler system up and running at maximum efficiency. An efficient system saves water and helps keep your water bill lower during those hot summer months. A special emphasis in these classes will be regulating water pressure in your system to improve efficiency.
All virtual workshops are scheduled for Tuesdays at 6 p.m.
Learn more.
Dates |
March 16, 2021 |
April 13, 2021 |