Public invited to Rain Garden workshop in Ripley, Monday morning

The Pine River Watershed Initiative Network (PRWIN) welcomes the public to a "live" demonstration Rain Garden workshop, Monday morning, Oct. 16, in Ripley. The Rain Garden will be built on the west side of the Ripley Library, at 23 Jessie St, with the demonstration beginning at 10 a.m.

Members of the Ripley and District Horticultural Society, along with other local volunteers, will be learning about Rain Gardens while planting and constructing the soil formulation and depth ratios for best results.  Rain Gardens look like regular perennial gardens, but help capture and filter stormwater. They are shallow, sunken gardens, designed to collect rainwater that flows off hard, impermeable surfaces, such as roofs, driveways, and patios. They can be planted with many combinations of shrubs, grasses, and flowers. Under the surface, the loose, deep soil of the Rain Garden absorbs and filters rainwater, thereby reducing the load on the stormwater system. Residents from all locations can benefit from planting a Rain Garden on their property to help the effects of climate change.

The Rain Garden that PRWIN is proposing for the library property will be planted primarily with a mix of native shrubs, grasses, along with a number of native flowers. This garden will be designed to be low maintenance, and will collect and filter rain runoff from the west half of the library roof (approximately 68 square metres).

The garden, itself, will be approximately 6.8 square metres in area, and dug to a depth of about one metre. The plants making up the garden (Brown-eyed Susan, big bluestem, and tufted hairgrass, among others) will be nestled in among rocks of varying size, and any open areas filled with mulch.

PRWIN staff and volunteer directors are providing all preparation and installation requirements, as well as maintenance of the Rain Garden for a period of five years, including weeding, plant removal/replanting (if necessary), and general erosion repair (if necessary).