{audio}http://cpa.ds.npr.org/krcb/audio/2015/03/nbr_4_1_15_introducing_the_waterboxx.mp3{/audio}

3:26

A cross-sectional view of the Waterboxx. Water from the reservoir that rings the growing space at the center is slowly wicked into the soil underneath, which is also cooled by the device. The Waterboxx mus be removed before the tree gets too big; however a new biodegradable version is in development.

The Waterboxx is installed around a newly planted tree, and remains in place for a year or more, until the sapling is established. Caitlin Cornwall from the Sonoma Ecology Center explains what goes on during that time.

{audio}http://cpa.ds.npr.org/krcb/audio/2015/03/wb_mechanics.mp3{/audio}

0:38

It was just about a year ago that Sonoma County Regional Parks first field-tested the Waterboxx. Park planner Karen Davis-Brown recalls that they choose an especially challenging spot for that test.

{audio}http://cpa.ds.npr.org/krcb/audio/2015/03/putnam_park.mp3{/audio}

0:21

The video below, produced by Hoff's company, Groasis, explains the workings of the Waterboxx in animated detail.

Original Source

Introducing the Waterboxx