The WCC’s Public Project was developed by members of the WCC’s Executive Committee in cooperation with the UNLV chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and employees from the Southern Nevada Water Authority. 

Boys Town Nevada children are learning a valuable lesson from the water-smart upgrades.  The youth collaborated with the WCC to help make their residential homes warm, comfortable and family-friendly.   The children, staff and the WCC have worked together to create the new look of the 22-acre campus.  The designers put together a central theme and learned the preferences of the families who will reside in the newly upgraded water-efficient campus.

Currently, the residential services campus contains five homes.  Each is home to up to six children ages 10-18, who live with Family-Teachers, a married couple who act as surrogate parents to the youth, and the Family-Teachers’ natural children.  The large families can put water usage at extreme levels.  The goal of the WCC’s Public Project is to make the campus more water-efficient, which could help the cost of running each home drop substantially.

The indoor upgrades consist of new, water-efficient appliances.  Toilets, sink fixtures, washers, dishwashers and other devices using water will be replaced.  Outside, grass areas will be removed from peripheral sections located around the houses, and upgraded to desert landscaping which does not require much water upkeep.

In addition to the indoor and outdoor changes, WCC volunteers will also add water-efficient recreational areas throughout the campus.  Leisure and park areas, including sections for picnics and fire pits for barbequing, will be placed on the property.

The plan, costing roughly $100,000-$150,000, will be completed through donations. Landscapers, landscape design students and other companies involved with the renovation are donating their time and services to the project and expect it will be complete by summer of 2008.