Rain Garden Resources Program

About the Program

Category: County Resiliency (Best in Category)

Year: 2013

Chesterfield County encouraged stewardship of water quality and the Chesapeake Bay by offering a new, hands-on educational series for residents in 2012. The Rain Garden Resources Program encourages easy-to-design and install rain gardens for homeowner application. The program is a partnership between the Department of Environmental Engineering and Chesterfield County Libraries. Rain Garden Workshop participants attend a classroom session on rain garden design for home application and an on-the-ground session where they build demonstration rain gardens at county libraries and other public facilities. Interpretive signs explaining the functions and benefits of rain gardens are erected at each site and an illustrated Rain Garden Installation and Design Guide has been published and is distributed regionally. These services are offered free to the community. The program illustrates a local government leading by example in its efforts to restore the Chesapeake Bay.