We created a backyard rain garden to attract butterflies and hummingbirds while managing water from our house and driveway. The choice of a rain garden was motivated by examples at Olney Elementary School and by our county’s RainScapes program. The garden is a fully DIY “COVID project” that took two years from initial research to final inspection, with actual construction in July-December 2022.
Through the RiverSmart Homes Program, a single mother at 700 Geranium Street NW wanted to reclaim her backyard while managing more than 4,000 square feet of runoff from her neighbors’ properties. Together, we removed 1,000 square feet of impervious surface, installed a 100 square-foot rain garden, and planted two trees on the property. This transformed a paved yard with an open culvert into a functional space for the residents and now provides ample opportunity for stormwater to absorb in the yard before running into the MS4.
We are a network of nearly 11,000 stormwater professionals from within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed and around the world!
