Leigh Jerrard
I am an architect and the principal of Greywater Corps. My architecture practice emphasizes adapting existing structures rather than demolition; supporting local labor in lieu of imported fandangles; recycled, repurposed and reused materials; and carefully considered interrelationships between the built environment and the natural world. I believe that ecological design is not the exclusive domain of the rich and can in fact go hand-in-hand with inexpensive, thoughtful architecture that embodies simplicity and beauty.
Following the birth of my son Niko in 2005 I became increasingly aware of our extraction, apportioning and consumption of natural resources, particularly water: the average Los Angeles resident uses 144 gallons of water per day. This prompted research into greywater systems where bath, shower and laundry water is recaptured and used for landscape irrigation instead of going down the drain. I subsequently founded Greywater Corps, an organization that installs greywater systems and also conducts seminars and workshops, teaching homeowners how to install their own systems.
My family currently takes long, guilt-free showers while irrigating an orchard of fruit trees: Lemon, avocado, plum, peach, kumquat, loquat, guava and ruby-red grapefruit.