Partnership sprouts success for Clare garden fest

Keen green thumbs heading to Clare's renowned SA Autumn Garden Festival next April will get a hands-on look at how to beautify their backyard in a water-efficient way thanks to support through SA Water's 2019 Community Partnerships Program.

Partnering with the Clare Agricultural and Horticultural Society, the $4,000 sponsorship will support the annual event, with SA Water's gardening gurus to present about garden biodiversity, backyard zoning and ways to efficiently water plants and lawns while naturally cooling your house.

SA Water's $75,000 Community Partnerships Program supports local community groups deliver events and projects that aim to foster a better life in local communities across regional and metropolitan South Australia.

SA Water's General Manager Customers, Strategy and Innovation Anna Jackson said SA Water was proud to again be supporting the two-day event.

"More than 2800 people from as far as Adelaide, the Riverland, Eyre Peninsula and even Broken Hill visited the event earlier this year and we had a great response from keen gardeners wanting to hear more about how they can maximise the efficiency of their water use," Anna said.

"Our team has done ground-breaking work on using smart irrigation to cool urban environments by up to three degrees, and our results show this can be adapted to benefit backyards and gardens around South Australia.

"The festival is a terrific tourism draw card for the Clare Valley, and we're excited to work with the Clare Agricultural and Horticultural Society on providing a fun and educational event for 2020."

The sponsorship is one of 11 successful recipients of this year's Community Partnerships Program, which saw overwhelming interest from community groups with ideas involving the use of water for a better life.

"We had more than double the amount of applications than for our 2018 program and narrowing the field down to our final list of projects was tough given the amazing range of community groups and events," Anna said.

"It's clear that so many of our customers have amazing ideas and events that make a difference to the lives of others in the community, and we can't wait to support this group of worthy recipients throughout the next year as their events come to fruition."

To see the full list of successful recipients of the 2019 Community Partnerships Program, visit sawater.com.au.

Contact:

Phone:

Email: