Andre Movsesyan said he and his wife were at home during the pandemic with more time around the house than usual when they decided to become a little closer with their environment.  Through a friend, they learned about the plight of the monarch butterfly, which is a threatened species.   “We loved seeing the butterflies in our backyard,” he said of their home on Barbacoa Drive in Saugus, “so we thought, ‘How can we help out?’”  The caterpillar only eats milkweed, a toxic but colorful flowering, drought-tolerant perennial that feeds its transition into a butterfly.  And it turns out it made a great addition to the landscape in the yard, he said.   Andre Movsesyan stands with his son Noa, 2, and wife Meldis Zakarian at the walkway of their water-wise landscape in Saugus on Thursday, Dec. 19. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal The Saugus property is a monarch waystation, providing nectar sources and shelter. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “We learned how to kind of help the monarchs,” Movsesyan said, “So we’ve been planting a lot of milkweed, and then at the same time, we learned about the (Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency’s lawn-replacement) program, and we’re like, ‘Wow, this would be great. So we decided to convert our front yard into a monarch way station.”  The Movsesyans are one of hundreds of families to take part in SCV Water’s Lawn Replacement Program, which just passed a milestone — more than 1 million square feet of grass have been converted to more sustainable, climate-resilient, drought-tolerant landscapes.  “We are thrilled to celebrate this achievement,” said Matt Dickens, SCV Water sustainability manager. “Our Lawn Replacement Program has made a real difference, and we want to recognize the hard work and dedication of the community and our team in reaching this goal. This milestone reflects our shared commitment to water conservation and water use efficiency, especially in a state like California, where every drop counts.”  Movsesyan moved to the area in 2020 and decided to take part in the program in 2021, but the architect who’s also a Sierra Club member said he’s always cared about the environment.  Homeowner Kathy Orlowski shows off the work in her front yard done by the SCV Water’s Lawn Replacement Program, which aims to reduce water usage in Castaic on Friday, Dec. 19, 2024. Katherine Quezada/The Signal Homeowners Kathy and Paul Orlowski’s water system is provided by the SCV Water’s Lawn Replacement Program, which aims to reduce water usage. Friday, Dec. 19, 2024. Katherine Quezada/The Signal “As a kid, you know, Steve Irwin and Animal Planet is what I grew up to,” he said, “so all my life, I’ve been very conservation-minded … and wanted to be part of the solution instead of the problem — that kind of never left me as an adult.”  The lion’s share of the more than 1,120,000 square feet converted — about 854,000 square feet — were projects for commercial properties that can add up to big savings for property owners.  The “Bark Park” at the Promenade at Town Center Apartments converted nearly 82,000 square feet, estimated to reduce its water usage by 87%, which comes out to 2.8 million gallons of water annually. That’s a saving of more than $8,500 each year, according to SCV Water.  Kathy Orlowski, who lives in the North Bluffs community of Castaic, said she heard about the program from SCV Water officials’ outreach at a community event, and it sounded like something that appealed to her and her husband for a couple of reasons.   Andre Movsesyan stands with his son Noa, 2, at the walkway of their water-wise landscape in Saugus. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Hummingbirds can be seen outside of the property on Thursday, Dec. 19. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal “Low maintenance and, of course, water-saving was our goal,” she said, adding it was something they had been thinking about for a while but weren’t ready to replace their grass with turf. “Water is an issue always, even in the good, non-drought years, we should all be thinking about saving water.”  After she reached out to SCV Water, a staff member came out to look at her property and determine the potential eligibility, she said. And then after the work was completed, a staff member signed off and the rebate check was issued.  The process was easy, she said, and both Movsesyan and Orlowski mentioned the rebate covered just about all of the expenses for their conversion.  Kathy Orlowski and her husband, Paul, liked their courtyard and front-yard conversion so much that they’re now planning to look at the rest of their property, she said in a phone interview Thursday.  Movsesyan said the annual savings was hard to gauge, because they converted the lawn after only about a year of living in Saugus. However, even though they have a pool, he said his water bill usually stays around the average for the area, which is currently $59.40 to $62.97 per month. Movsesyan said his rebate included an extra $1 per square foot of the yard because he had at least 50% of the plants be drought-tolerant.  The Orlowski’s front lawn in Castaic is filled with low water and drought-resistant plants provided by the SCV Water’s Lawn Replacement Usage on Friday, Dec. 19, 2024. Katherine Quezada/The Signal Movsesyan took part of SCV Water’s Lawn Replacement in 2021, having a water-wise landscape on their Saugus property. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal Movsesyan said he was able to choose from a list of native, drought-tolerant plants — and a few that were more local to the region, but also water-saving — and he loves his new setup.  The family may not have as much time to spend with the monarchs with the pandemic over, but they’re still making an impact and hearing positive feedback all the time, he said.  “The lawn-replacement program was great in helping us get to a point where we can bring a lot of attention to the situation,” he said, adding it’s been a worthwhile learning experience and the native plants in his new garden offer colorful, seasonal blooms his lawn never did.  “The plants — some of them work out, some of them don’t,” he said, “so we have had to replace a few of them. But overall, as the garden kind of matures, you see the plants flower that hadn’t flowered before. So, it’s kind of interesting to see everything grow, and you see a lot of new growth as well.”  The post SCV Water touts 1M-square-foot lawn reductions  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.