Wilson Environmental Landscape Design Inc. has announced the next installment in a series of presentations on “Santa Barbara’s Sustainable Lifestyle” produced in collaboration with Santa Barbara’s Whole Foods Market, 3761 State St. “Grow Food, Save Money” will be held from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1.

The talk, led by Daniel Wilson, president of WELDesign, will highlight the winter season in Santa Barbara — the perfect time to plant food.

WELDesign will guide people on the process of creating their own Home Food Forest™. An HFF is more than just a vegetable garden; it’s a complete organic ecosystem of trees, plants, pollinators, decomposers, soil, water and more. WELDesign will provide those interested in building this new ecosystem with a full understanding of the variety of components that will make the venture a success.

“The Whole Foods community is extremely interested in the connections between where and how their food is grown, as well as ways to live more gently on the planet, a philosophy that is shared by the team at WELDesign,” Wilson said. “I’m excited to contribute an educational component to the market experience by teaching people about the environment, climate, soils, seasons and food plants unique to the Santa Barbara area. Through live demonstrations, my goal is to illustrate sensible ways we can work with nature to utilize rain/storm water effectively, maintain easy-care California friendly landscaping and grow nutritious food in our backyards, in what I call a ‘Home Food Forest.’ It’s better food, grown at home.”

Rae Van Seenus, marketing supervisor at Whole Foods Market, said, “The Santa Barbara store is excited to expand our free educational seminars to include Daniel Wilson’s expertise on organic and sustainable lifestyle measures. Our collaboration with WELDesign supports our company’s fifth core value, which includes caring about sustainable agriculture, wise environmental practices, community citizenship and integrity in all business dealings.”

Award-winning WELDesign is a locally owned and fully licensed, bonded and insured landscape design, build and maintenance company.

For more information about the seminar or innovative sustainable landscapes, click here or call 805.957.4729.

— Green Hawk interactive producer Sarah Ettman-Sterner focuses on current environmental trends and marine-related topics. A member of the Society for Environmental Journalists, she provided the “voice” for Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society for more than a decade. She can be reached at sesterner@noozhawk.com.