Is water from your downspout creating a soggy place in your backyard? Has there been an increase in the number of flooding events in your neighborhood?  Did you know that studies specific to New Jersey show that rainfall intensity is likely to increase with climate change? Rain gardens can help us manage storm water runoff from rooftops, driveways, lawns, roads, and other hard surfaces.

Rain gardens look like regular perennial gardens, but they are much more. During a storm, they fill with water which slowly filters into the ground rather than running into storm sewers. By capturing storm water, rain gardens help to reduce the impact of human activities and pollution in the environment such as road sediment/salt, fertilizers, pesticides, bacteria from pet waste, eroded soil, grass clippings, litter, etc. This helps protect the health of our waterways.  Rain gardens also add beauty to neighborhood and provide wildlife habitat. 

Ewing resident Jean Graham shared her experience: “Removing a large tree to add an addition left us with rainwater washing the topsoil to the bottom of the yard. Then after the grass grew, the rainwater collected in large pools. A modest-sized rain garden takes care of the rainwater from only one of the three backyard downspouts, but that’s enough to solve the problem and to provide lovely flowers that attract butterflies and other pollinators all spring and summer. A buried pipe draws the rainwater from the downspout into the rain garden, with an outlet at the other end of the rain garden to a buried emergency overflow tank. We had the rain garden installed in October 2020.”

In this 1.5-hour evening workshop, you can learn how to plan and plant your own rain garden.  Learn about how to site it, which plants to choose and much more.  Enhance your property and your neighborhood this spring with a rain garden in your yard. 

Presenters: Kendra McKoy and Olvia Spildooren from The Watershed Institute.   Kendra is the Delaware River Advocate / Olivia is the River-Friendly Coordinator.

Date: Wednesday, April 13
Time: 7 pm
Location: Live Virtual
Cost: Free and open to the public

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
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