Train to be a Master Rain Gardener!

Learn to design and install your own rain garden and be the rain garden expert in your neighborhood. Master Rain Gardeners help friends and neighbors to learn about, design, and plant rain gardens.

What is a rain garden? Rain gardens work with nature to collect and filter rainwater that runs off impervious surfaces like rooftops and driveways. Impervious surfaces lead to increases in surface runoff and often result in increased flooding and stream bank erosion. As water travels over impervious surfaces, it also has the potential to pick up pollutants. Polluted stormwater runoff enters our rivers and lakes and is one of the leading threats to water quality in the United States. Rain gardens naturally manage stormwater by infiltrating precipitation and allowing it to soak into the ground rather than sending it directly to storm sewers and nearby streams untreated.

REGISTRATION OPEN FOR 2023 MASTER RAIN GARDENER COURSES

We will have a virtual orientation meeting for the class on, June 7, 2023, when we will also provide links to the online classes. The series of online classes will have weekly teams virtual meetings where we will have office hours to answer your questions. These office hours are totally optional and not necessary for your course completion. The first office hours will be held during the week of June 12, 2023, and the last office hours will be held during the week of July 17, 2023. There will be no office hours during the week which includes the Fourth of July. The weekly discussions are totally optional and attendance is not necessary for the completion of the class. Invitations will be sent for the virtual office hours when we send all the information, on June 7, Orientation Day. You may watch the classes at your convenience within the course timeline, and this allows for more flexibility. Your webinar access will be permanent. Summit SWCD will provide you with weekly feedback on your weekly homework assignments and quizzes through google classroom, and you will need a g-mail account for the google classroom.
Upon completion of the course, and either installing your own raingarden or helping to maintain a community raingarden as a volunteer, you will receive your Master Raingardener certificate.

Cost for the class is $25.00

If you're ready to become a master rain gardener, click here to complete your registration now!

Registration and payment should be in our office by Tuesday, June 6, 2023. You may pay by mailing a check to Summit Soil and Water Conservation District, 1180 South Main Street, Suite 230, Akron, Ohio, 44301.
Please call 330-926-2452 for more information and to answer questions that you may have.

We are grateful to Washtenaw County Michigan Water Resources Commissioner’s Office, Cuyahoga County Soil and Water Conservation District, Lake County Soil and Water Conservation District, and Chagrin River Watershed Partners, for resources and assistance with this program.