The Issues:

• Stormwater runoff
• Erosion from roof runoff

“The best place to start is our own back yard” - Bonita Martin, SWWTP

“We ought to be practicing what we’re preaching” - Bonita Martin, SWWTP

Demonstrate effectiveness of rain gardens in a region with heavy clay soils, harsh winters, and deep frost.

Features:

• demonstration Rain gardens in Superior
• Different situations and construction techniques used
• One smaller hand-dug garden typical of a residential rain garden
• Dug by Woodland Hills students
• Planted by community members as part of a rain garden workshop
• Native plants
• Rainbarrels used to direct roof runoff to gardens

How the project came about:

• Bonita Martin developed proposal
• Grant from Great Lakes Commission’s Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control