(Source: Rain Bird)

The Intelligent Use of Water Awards is an interactive grant program that awards funds to water conservation and environmental sustainability projects that promote green spaces.

A global initiative, anyone with access to the Internet can submit a project via the Intelligent Use of Water Awards website and promote it within his or her own community. All projects are anonymously voted upon by visitors (one vote a day per project, per individual user), and the projects with the most votes will receive funding from Rain Bird according to their funding category.

Rain Bird will award four $1,500 projects, three $5,000 projects, and three $10,000 projects.

Established in 2008, the annual Intelligent Use of Water Awards program recognizes individuals and organizations whose innovation, leadership, ingenuity, and dedication to the management and protection of Earth’s most precious natural resource through improved landscape water efficiency raises the standard for outdoor water conservation.

After three years of honoring individuals and organizations for their completed projects, The Intelligent Use of Water Awards program was revamped in 2010 to help fund future water conservation projects.

The interactive approach to this year’s program will help Rain Bird serve a broader range of projects that seek to intelligently manage water and preserve green spaces.

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Past Winners

In 2009, The Intelligent Use of Water Award went to Naples Botanical Garden, Inc. in Naples, Florida, for their commitment to sustainable green building practices in the design of their gardens.

In 2008, Christopher Gray of Marvel Golf Club in Benton, Kentucky, demonstrated innovation for his proactive development and implementation of water conservation programs both on and off the golf course.

The first winner in 2007 was a five-acre garden near El Cajon, California, The Water Conservation Garden, that showcased water conservation through a series of themed gardens and robust educational programming.

About Rain Bird

Based in Azusa, Calif., Rain Bird Corporation is the leading manufacturer and provider of irrigation products and services. Since its beginnings in 1933, Rain Bird has offered the industry’s broadest range of irrigation products for farms, golf courses, sports arenas, commercial developments and homes in more than 130 countries around the world. Rain Bird has been awarded more than 130 patents, including the first in 1935 for the impact sprinkler. Rain Bird and The Intelligent Use of Water is about using water wisely. Its commitment extends beyond products to education, training and services for the industry and the community. Rain Bird maintains state-of-the-art manufacturing assembly facilities in the United States, France, Sweden and Mexico.