Looking outside my window, the sky is cloudless, bright, a slight breeze. And it’s December, normally a time of frequent rain. While we here in the Sierra Foothills are not yet facing a water shortage, many people in the world are. And in places that do get sufficient rain, they may be lacking in opportunities to be physically active during the rainy season.

The Watree addresses both of these issues, in a device that some would say looks like an upside down umbrella. While mechanically complex, the idea is simple – Able to be stored in a retracted form, the Watree unfurls to become a large bowl to capture rain, which is then directed to a series of storage tanks underground, ready to be processed as drinking water, or later used to irrigate land.

In the case of high water needs playgrounds, parks, and sporting fields, the Watree serves both to keep an area dry during heavy rain periods, allowing for activity to continue longer then was previously possible, and the accumulated water could be used later when the sun is high and the water is low.

In a deft use of spare statistics, this page summarizes the Raintree’s potential effectiveness, laying out how two Watrees could catch and provide enough rain to maintain the playing surface for a sporting field. Although the Watree is mostly shown as something for urban sports fields and parks, I could see this being used anywhere where there are extremes of climate from season to season, varying from quite wet to too dry to meet needs.

Melbourne based Chris Buerckner is the designer behind what is now for the moment an idea. A great idea. Perhaps one you can help see the light of day? Or in this case, the rain. Any ecopreneurists interested in this can contact him here.

Readers: Where else are you seeing innovative ways to manage water use?