Walking through your typical central Austin house lot, Mia kicks at the dusty soil underneath a large pecan tree.

A Texas native, she has been watching more and more landscapes turn to dust as the summers get hotter.

"Most people don't understand how water flows. They don't know that what they plant and how they plant it can effect everything on their property." The effect she is referring to is called water sinkage - and she is on a mission to sink as much water as she can, one house at a time.

Water sinkage is the permaculture land management practice that diverts water that would typically run off of land and into storm drains. "This is bad for the water ways, wildlife and humans alike. It affects us all. It's full circle." 

Yard by yard, acre by acre, Mia is on a mission to subvert standard landscaping techniques with sustainable, permaculture practices. 

"This is for our land, our families and our future. We need this now."