Rain Gardens: beautiful and beneficial to the community!

Rain gardens are a practical and functional stormwater quality practice. They are also beautiful! These shallow saucer-shaped gardens slow down and capture rainwater runoff after a storm, allowing it to soak into the ground. They help protect our waterways by filtering stormwater runoff and replenishing groundwater.

Remember that they are also beautiful additions to a landscape! Selections of flowering native plants are used in the garden to create an attractive landscape throughout the growing season. While the rain garden is improving water quality, it is also providing food and shelter for pollinators, birds, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. Another great reason to add this water quality feature to your yard is that it reduces your maintenance once it is established! The plants used in rain gardens develop deep root systems that allow them to survive periods of drought. Once mature, those root systems will also outcompete weeds, making your caretaking job simple!

If you do not think of yourself as a rain garden enthusiast right now, plan to join us for our upcoming virtual rain garden program series. Watch as we create a demonstration rain garden at Morgan Park. You’ll learn everything you need to know to add one of these gems to your own yard! This project and workshop series is made possible by a grant from the OEPA Ohio Environmental Education Fund in partnership with the Portage Soil & Water Conservation District and OSU Extension Portage County.

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate a practical stormwater quality practice that residents, local government officials, and businesses can duplicate on their property. Program participants will learn about the benefits of rain gardens and watch the construction of a rain garden at Morgan Park to capture the stormwater runoff from the roof of the park bathroom. The program will be taught by Jennifer White from the Portage Park District and Lynn Vogel from the Portage Soil & Water Conservation District, both of whom have been installing and tending rain gardens for at least 15 years. Participants will learn from their experience and mistakes and will even get a free native plant after completing the series!

The project will include permanent interpretive signage at the Morgan Park garden site. It will not only function as a stormwater quality practice but will also be used for future nature education programming around native plants and pollinators. The ultimate goal of this project is to increase the number of rain gardens installed on private property in the county. Small actions from many people add up to big impacts to our community.

Register to get started on your rain garden journey!  Questions? Contact Jennifer White at 330-813-8023 or jcwhite@portageparkdistrict.org.