Advertisement The workshop is open to all interested people, not just town residents, and will include a discussion of the rain garden concept and techniques for creating them followed by creation of a rain garden on the Town Hall property.
Rain gardens are a way of keeping rainwater from running off one’s property and into storm sewers and/or area waterways where contaminants picked up by the water can harm ecosystems. Rain gardens also can prevent stormwater from running off and creating soil erosion problems in sloped areas.
The basic idea of a rain garden is to make a depression where rain tends to collect and plant deep-rooting wetlands plants there that will help contain the water, said Holland Town Clerk Marilyn Pedretti.
“They can be quite beautiful,” Pedretti said of rain gardens.
In addition to being beneficial to the environment, rain gardens will help municipalities reach looming stormwater abatement requirements, “which will save money in the end,” Pedretti said.
Some municipalities have given property owners who install rain gardens breaks on their stormwater district assessments as an incentive.
Pedretti said the hands-on creation of the rain garden will help those attending the workshop, and it will allow people considering a rain garden to see what one looks like in person.
People planning to attend the rain garden workshop are asked to RSVP to 526-3354 to ensure there are enough supplies on hand for everybody.
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