Volunteers to 'green' Sonoma Trail

A device its inventor says has the ability to “green the world” will be installed Tuesday along the Sonoma Overlook Trail by a team of volunteers.

The Groasis Waterboxx, named the 2010 Invention of the Year by “Popular Science,” will used by the Sonoma Ecology Center to sustain more than 200 new plants along the hillside.

Volunteers should arrive at the trailhead parking lot by 9 a.m. “I’ll talk to everyone about why we’re using the waterboxx, how it works, and how it needs to be installed,” said Caitlin Cornwell. “We’ll plant for the rest of the morning, eat lunch together, and keep going until four or four-thirty. Stay as long as you like.”

Described as a “water battery” by its inventor, Pieter Hoff, the unit is a circular, reusable container that allows plants to thrive in even the most arid regions by harvesting water through condensation, not irrigation.

The project will entail plantinga lot of young plants into the ground so they can re-weave the rich forest that belongs on the Sonoma Overlook Trail’s hillsides, she said.

Volunteers should be prepared to work hard in rocky soil, and dress accordingly. To volunteer or learn more, contact Cornwall at 322-1400.