Growing up in rural central Illinois, Mia Ingolia didn’t live on a farm, but her backyard felt like one. Her family’s three-acre property was a patchwork of big gardens, flower beds, and a pond bordered by farm fields, forests, and horse pastures. Summers meant planting seeds with her dad, cutting bouquets for the dinner table, and getting sent to the yard by her mom with the instruction: “Go play outside.”

What was once two acres of cracked asphalt behind Everett Middle School is now a lush, multi-use outdoor space that captures stormwater, supports student learning, and offers a model for climate-smart urban design.

Born in Nicaragua, Dorian Dominguez’s early life was filled with both the hope of becoming an Olympic boxer and the harsh reality of political unrest. At just 16, he was faced with a decision no young person should have to make — either stay and be forced into war or leave everything behind in search of a safer life. The transition was tough, he says, “When I left my country, I didn’t come on a plane. My mom gave me $50 and said, ‘Go and find a better life.'"

Rainy season is here, and thanks to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's (SFPUC) Green Infrastructure Grants for Homes pilot program, several homeowners are ready with a new stormwater management plan in place. By installing rain gardens, cisterns, and other solutions, these residents are doing their part to help reduce the runoff entering the sewer system, while also lowering their bills.

City partners offer tools and programs to help San Franciscans prepare for wet weather