Want to kill your lawn? Open Yard Sustainability can show you how to be a water keeper

Sierra Club activist Jeanette Vosburg and her family will host an Open Yard Sustainability event on April 16 -- and you're invited.

The free event is open to anyone who wants to find out how to replace your lawn with native plants and vegetables, how a cistern works, and what role permeable pavement can play in saving rainwater.

Vosburg has made water-saving her mission since 1999 when she learned that Los Angeles built hundreds of miles of storm drains to contain storm water runoff as more and more of L.A. was given over to pavement (driveways, roads, parking lots, patios, buildings, etc.).

Each year billions of gallons of that rainwater that could go back into the water table race down driveways and streets to storm drains that eventually feed into conduits like Ballona Creek and finally into the Pacific Ocean. This rainwater picks up pollutants that contaminate the Santa Monica Bay.

L.A. imports 89% of the water it uses from hundreds of miles away -- not a sustainable water source as the area continues to grow and sources of water become more scarce.

Capturing rainwater provides an amazing opportunity to for homeowners to reuse what falls from the sky to feed thirsty trees and plants. The Vosbergs capture and reuse 100% of rainfall after each storm.

Some features to see at the Open Yard Sustainability Event include:

--Permeable pavers that soak up rainwater immediately.

--Drought-tolerant plants that require little water. Changing up a traditional lawn or garden reduces weeding, watering and mowing.

--A curb cut that captures rainwater before it races down the street to a storm drain. A cistern stores gray water to be reused too. 

And the family's water bill? It dropped 40% before all of the water-saving measures were completed.

The Vosburgs love to share water-capturing/gardening tips and help educate homeowners and residents about how to take the first steps for a sustainable yard.

Join us from noon to 3 p.m. April 16 at 4124 East Blvd. and 4177 Marcasel Ave. in Los Angeles.