2026
WATER AUTHORITY DROUGHT WEBINARS:
Every Other Friday at lunch.
August
August 7, 12 noon - 1 p.m.
Roses Reimagined: Sustainable Rose Garden Design and Maintenance for Arid Gardens with Maria Thomas, Curator of Plants at the ABQ BioPark
The session emphasizes creating balanced plant communities where roses coexist with companions that share similar water and soil requirements.
- Identify hardy, drought-tolerant rose species and hybrids suitable for New Mexico
- Demonstrate how to pair roses with xeric companion plants for water efficiency
- Explore design strategies for year-round visual interest
- Teach plant layering techniques for structure, function, and beauty
- Promote sustainable, climate-appropriate gardening practices
Webinar: Sign Up Here
August 21, 12 noon - 1 p.m.
Fundamentals of Lawn Care in a Changing Arid Climate with Richard Perce, Project Manager at Anthropopulus Design + Planning
This webinar will focus on the fundamentals of installing and maintaining turf grass in our increasingly hot and dry climate. The webinar will discuss:
- the importance of proper soil preparation
- what you can do to improve your soils after the fact
- various types and varieties of turf grasses and where they are appropriate to use
- proper maintenance practices including mowing, aerating, and fertilizing
- basic irrigation maintenance and best practices to help ensure a healthy lawn while still conserving water
Webinar: Sign Up Here
September
September 4, 12 noon - 1 p.m.
Designing for Dogs with Wes Brittenham Artist, Writer and long-time garden geek
Dogs are creatures of habit and happenstance. In this program Wes will use the example of how a Belgian Sheepdog and a Golden Retriever helped him design a backyard landscape that favored the dog’s requirements, while providing interesting challenges and details requiring observation, opportunity, and playfulness. This garden not only supported the dogs but also a wide variety of wildlife and pollinators and became a Certified Wildlife Habitat 25 years ago.
Webinar: Sign Up Here
September 18, 12 noon - 1 p.m.
Tree Planting with Joran Viers, Consulting Arborist at Legacy Tree Company
This webinar will focus on all aspects of tree planting including:
- Site conditions, irrigation, digging the hole
- Root ball concerns and mitigations
- Installing the tree and watering in.
Webinar: Sign Up Here
October
October 2, 12 noon - 1 p.m.
Turtles From Outer Space puppet show with Monika Skiba, Environmental Educator and Artist, Stephen Williamson, Water Resources Outreach Educator, Jeff Tuttle, Education Coordinator Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Authority
Join us for a puppet show extraordinaire where we will take a journey with Luna & Mar, two kids from Albuquerque, who encounter two unexpected visitors from outer space. See how these brave kids teach the outer space visitors what it means to take care of the precious Rio Grande and how to respect all the plants and animals of the bosque. This puppet show is for all ages and includes songs and movements, so be ready to join in! The show will touch on some of these topics:
- Animals in the bosque in Albuquerque, NM
- Water is precious and needed for all life to survive
- How to be a respectful visitor to a new place
Webinar: Sign Up Here
October 16, 12 noon - 1 p.m.
Plants for Sensory Gardens with Wes Brittenham: Artist, Writer and long-time garden geek
In this webinar, we will identify many species of plants that make excellent additions to any landscape or garden but are especially intriguing for the sensory qualities they possess. Texture, form, fragrance, and feel make these plants an inviting addition for those with mobility issues, challenged vision, or other physical limitations that might make enjoying time in the garden a little more stimulating to the senses.
Webinar: Sign Up Here
October 30, 12 noon - 1 p.m.
Tree Pruning with Joran Viers, Consulting Arborist at Legacy Tree Company
This class will explore pruning effects on:
- Tree health
- Reasons to prune and when
- Types of cuts, tools and limitations
Webinar: Sign Up Here
WEBINAR AND DISCLAIMER INFORMATION:
- A link to the webinar will be sent to the email address entered in the registration form immediately after registering. If you do not see the email with the link, please check your spam or junk folder.
- Please be sure to join using the same email address you used to register, as attendance may be used to confirm eligibility for program incentives.
- Participants must join the webinar by 12:15 (participants joining later will be denied).
- Mobile users will need to download the free Microsoft Teams app from the app store or google play – give yourself extra time to do this before the webinar begins.
- Participants are welcome to sign up for multiple classes; however, the $20 rebate will only be issued for the first class attended per fiscal year.(7-1/6-30)
- Have questions or problems with registering: Please contact us at Askanexpert@abcwua.org or 505-842-9287 option 4. However, we are a very small group and cannot respond to registration questions on the day of the event.
Please note: All personal information will be kept confidential, and used for rebate purposes only.
OTHER EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES:
Albuquerque Bio Park (Botanic Garden): Monthly Events and Classes
Albuquerque Master Gardeners: Monthly Classes
Albuquerque Rose Society: Monthly meetings
Bernalillo County Open Space: Weekly events and programs.
Bernalillo County Extension Master Composters Classes: Weekly classes all year.
Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program: Bosque School and UNM
City of Albuquerque Open Space: Weekly events and programs.
Ciudad Soil & Water Conservation District: Programs throughout the year.
Los Poblanos Historic Inn and Organic Farm: Birdwatching events and garden tours.
Los Ranchos Agri-Nature Center: Workshops and events.
Native Plant Society of New Mexico: Workshops
Next Generation Water Summit: May 19th-20th
New Mexico Backyard Refuge Program: Events
NM State Cooperative Extension Service: Weekly Webinars
Osuna University: Weekend Classes
Rio Grande Nature Center State Park: Events and programs.
Rio Grande Farmers Coalition: Monthly meetings.
Tree New Mexico: Monthly Tree Plantings
Think Trees New Mexico: Annual Conference in February
Valle de Oro: Events and programs.
Yerba Manza Project: Plant walks
For local programs near you we recommend you also check your local neighborhood association, community centers, senior centers, and neighborhood library. You can find all of those at https://www.cabq.gov/
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Water Conservation Program
P.O. Box 568
Albuquerque, NM 87103-0568
505-842-WATR Option 4