Instructor Maria Cahill, Sustainable Site Specialist with Green Girl Land Development Solutions demonstrates how to do an infiltration test outside of Sandpines.
On a rainy afternoon in late October, 32 participants attended the Florence Rain Garden workshop to learn about ways to reduce non-point source pollutants flowing off their property as part of the Siuslaw Chapter's Ocean Friendly Gardens program. The event was generously sponsored by the Siuslaw Watershed Council and the Siuslaw Soil and Water Conservation District. Big thanks to Sandpines Golf Course for providing a great location for the event! Participants learned about what a rain garden is and how they function, how to site one appropriately by calculating drainage area and local soil infiltration, using native or climate adapted plants in your rain garden, and some tricks for siting in challenging locations. Huge thanks to everyone for their attendance and participation! Happy Gardening!!!
Here are some helpful links with information from the workshop to help in implementing your own rain garden:
Fact Sheets on Rain Gardens and other stormwater management techniques
Tutorial on Choosing Native Plants using the USDA Plants Database
Rain Garden configuration details
Rain Garden Siting (i.e. Where do I put a rain garden and what kind) Decision Tree
Excel Rain Garden Infiltration Calculator