Rain garden photo/Wikipedia
This is coming up soon – the Linn County Conservation Board is looking for volunteers for this worthwhile project!
Rain Garden to Take Root
September 7th, 8:00 am – 11:00 am
The Linn County Conservation Board invites volunteers to help plant a rain garden this Saturday, September 7th, at Morgan Creek Park in Palo (7517 Worchester Road, Palo, 52325). Over 400 plants will be planted in the garden during the event, which will be a great opportunity for Cedar River Watershed Coalition members to learn about rain gardens.
A rain garden is a shallow depression planted with deep-rooted native plants. The project is a creative solution to a common problem – how to reduce the storm water runoff that can cause flooding problems. The garden will catch runoff from a nearby parking lot, allowing the rain water to soak into the ground. Whether you are interested as a homeowner or looking for innovative ways for your business to solve runoff problems, this planting day is a great chance to engage in a dialogue with plant and garden experts and see the nuts and bolts of the design.
“Better watershed management is the key to fight future floods and droughts as well as improving water quality,” said Senator Rob Hogg, co-chair of the Cedar River Watershed Coalition. “This project is a tangible thing that people can do to help make our watershed better.”
Interested volunteers should arrive with garden gloves, a trowel, water to drink, and a smile. Large shovels will be provided by Linn County Conservation. Volunteers will be working adjacent to the parking lot for the Arboretum and will be easy to spot.
Shive-Hattery donated its services to design the rain garden and will provide volunteers to help with planting. Shive-Hattery is a 375-person architecture and engineering firm with offices in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and West Des Moines, Iowa; Bloomington, Chicago, Downers Grove, and Moline, Illinois; Valparaiso, Indiana; and Chesterfield, Missouri. For more information, visit www.shive-hattery.com.
Rain garden plants are from Cedar River Garden Center in Palo, Iowa (http://cedarrivergardencenter.com/). All plants for the garden are native to Iowa.
Morgan Creek Arboretum has over a mile of trail, 250 different species with identification labels, and a butterfly garden. Volunteers are encouraged to explore before or after the event.
For more information about this event, visit http://linncountyconservation.wordpress.com/news-info/.
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