Our experts are your experts

Deborah Deets is Senior Landscape Architect for the City of Los Angeles

Deborah’s stormwater project designs for the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Sanitation, Watershed Protection program have been featured in the national Landscape Architecture Magazine (LAM), Stormwater Solutions Magazine, local public television (KCET), and have won national recognition for design and technical innovation. Her career is dedicated to the lessons of nature leading towards a state of self-regulation and balance with urban infrastructure.

Reimagning City Streets as Waterways
Los Angeles is known the world over for its streets and cars – but not so much for an abundance of fresh water. The LA Department of Sanitation’s Watershed Protection Division has an ingenious vision for turning miles and miles of what we commonly think of a nothing more than vehicle infrastructure into actual lifelines of sustainability serving our most basic need: fresh water for our communities.

Marcela Oliva is a Professor of Architecture and Green Design at Los Angeles Trade Technical College

Marcela is the lead for Mayor Garcetti’s Workforce Initiative for the Green New Deal for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) Industry Cluster – Careers by Design LA. She is also the founder of UCLA Extension Courses, including Transforming Community and Design for Social Justice. For 10 years she was the Knowledge Architect for the 9 Billion Building Program of the Los Angeles Community College District.

Site Design For A Cool House
The design of a home’s site, including how it’s laid out, orientation to the sun, shading structures like buildings and trees, and more, is critically important in terms of power savings but often overlooked. Site design affects home energy costs by reducing cooling and heating demand. Site design factors include: location of trees; exterior awnings and canopies; color of roof and walls, cross ventilation opportunities; attic insulation; and water features.

Get started on your own with free trees from LADWP and rebates on whole house fans and cool roofs!

Mark Lipps is a solar energy and energy storage technology expert with Powur Energy

Mark works with residential and business clients to find renewable energy solutions that create resiliency against the rising cost of utilities. Through his educational outreach, property owners learn how to transition from fossil fuels to solar, how to find the right installer, whether to invest in solar batteries, and how to choose from a wide range of financing options. Mark also has an extensive background in broadcasting, community and government relations.

What You Need to Pay to Get Power from the Sun
When you decide to go solar, what’s the best way to pay for it if you don’t have a pile of cash? We explore the financing options, the pros and cons of buying and leasing solar panels, explain the rebates, and more.

Before the Panels go Up
What you do before you sign your solar installation contact can save you a ton. Key prep includes making your home as energy efficient as possible to cut down (by half or more!) on the number of solar panels you’ll need.

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Solar Batteries
Batteries are the twin technology to solar panels. They keep you powered up on cloudy days and see you through outages. Quiet and understated, they can be a life-saver. But they’re expensive. So what do you need to know about them to make sure you get the greatest bang for your buck – and that you’ll have the power you need when you need it?

Claire Robinson is the founder of Amigos de los Rios

Claire is a national leader in urban greenspace development. She has guided dozens of urban greening projects in east Los Angeles County, converting schoolyards from grey to green and creating an ‘Emerald Necklace’ of trails, parks and open spaces along our urban river corridors.

What in the World Do I Do with My Yard?
Water-guzzling grass lawns are a bad choice for southern California’s climate. But if you don’t want to give them up altogether, think of the places you really need a lawn – for kids and pets, picnics, croquet, going barefoot -- and remove it everywhere else. Sculpt your yard with hills and hollows, using native plants, and retain 100% of the water that falls on your property. Eliminate fertilizers and pesticides and create critical habitat for birds and butterflies.

Get started on your own! Learn about CA-friendly landscaping and LADWP’s turf replacement program. Even get help designing or putting in your new plants!

Joel Pereda is a licensed contractor and owner of Enso Building Solutions

Joel is a long-term pro in green and sustainable building. He is an expert in energy efficiency auditing and creating high-performing, healthy, state-of-the-art green homes and buildings.

Sealing the Deal
Add up all the tiny cracks and gaps around doors, windows, plumbing and electrical outlets and the average home would have a hole the size of a hula hoop connecting it to the great outdoors! Plugging up those spaces is one of the most important things you can do to keep cool air inside your home in the summer and retain heat in the winter – and greatly increase your energy efficiency.

Joseph Gallegos is President and CEO of Grey4Green Greywater Irrigation Systems

Joseph is an expert in greywater and sustainable groundwater systems, an innovator in subsurface irrigation, carbon mitigation and Net Zero Positive Water Buildings. His work encompasses home landscapes, multi-story commercial buildings and commercial farms and orchards. He is a coveted speaker at water summits and tech expos, and he shares his extensive experience in DIY greywater tutorials on grey4green.

Take the Grey Water Plunge
Greywater systems let you use your home’s water more than once by sending it directly into the ground for good purpose. This is the “gently used” water from bathroom sinks, showers, bathtubs and washing machines. But is a greywater system right for you and your home?

Do This, Don’t Do That
You don’t do just anything with greywater -- like drink it, for instance, or water your carrots. But it’s great for fruit trees. So what are the do’s and don’ts you need to know about reusing the water you’ve already paid for? With the rules in mind, you’ll be able to irrigate a lawn for your kids and pets, water (at least a lot of) your garden, stop run-off, and create a greener, cooler place.