Rain Garden Demonstration Sites to Promote Groundwater Protection

1. Rain Garden Demonstration Sites to Promote Groundwater Protection Madeline Flahive DiNardo, Agricultural Agent Amy Boyajian, Student Intern Dr. Christopher Obropta, Specialist in Water Quality Greg Rusciano, Program Associate in Water Quality

2. What is a Rain Garden?

3. What is a Rain Garden? • Landscaped areas that treat stormwater runoff. • Designed to merge two important goals: aesthetics and water quality. • Can be blended into the landscape and made to look natural. • Water is directed into them by pipes, swales, or curb openings.

4. Rutgers Cooperative Extension Rain Garden Project • GOAL: To have the rain gardens serve as a model for county residents who are interested in controlling polluted runoff and to help recharge the groundwater • FUNDING: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection grant to Rutgers Cooperative Extension and partial funding from the USDA Regional Water Coordination Program

5. 2005 Storm Water Management Class • Storm Water 101 • Storm Water Best Management Practices (BMPs) • Design and Implementation of Storm Water • BMPs – Technical and “Backyard” Advice • Rain Garden Maintenance and Long Term Success www.rwqp.rutgers.edu

6. Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County Rahway River Association 2005 Rain Garden Partners

7. 2005 Rain Garden Partners • Walnut Avenue Elementary School, Cranford, NJ • Hanson Park Conservancy Cranford, NJ

8. 2005 Rain Garden Partners • Fanwood Public Library • Fanwood, NJ • Woodbridge Health Department • Woodbridge, NJ

9. 2005 Rain Garden Partners • Support from Municipal Public Works Departments were Key to the Success of the Projects !

10. Rain Garden Plantings

11. Rain Garden Plantings Black-eyed Susan Cardinal Flower Swamp Rose Mallow

12. Master Gardeners Maintain Rain Gardens • Watering • Weeding • Pruning

13. Rain Garden Maintenance

14. Rain Garden Education • Children’s Programs • Walnut Avenue Elementary School • Fanwood Library • 85 students participated. • “Clean Up Messy Town” • Enviroscape • Tour of Rain Garden

15. Program Evaluation • Identify sources of water pollution • Identify ways to protect ground water

16. Rain Garden Education • Evaluation Results • Students could identify 50% more ways to protect ground water. • On a scale of 1 -3, 3 indicating they learned “a lot”, students rated their learning about protecting ground water as 2.71 and rain gardens as 2.63. • 68% of the students will tell someone what they learned about rain gardens. • 96% would like to learn more about protecting water.

17. Rain Garden Education • Presentation on “How to Build a Rain Garden” • Garden tours • Web site: www.fanwoodlibrary.org/raingarden • Fact sheets • Poster Evening tour of Fanwood Rain Garden

18. Program Evaluation Pre/Post Program Survey 10 True / False Questions • Define Watershed • Groundwater flow • Parts of the rain garden • Proper depth of garden • Location of rain garden • Maintenance tasks

19. Program Evaluation Results • 30 Adult participants improved their score by an average of 13%. • Pre-program survey scores ranged from 40% to 90%. The average score was 63% and the mode was 60%. • Post-program survey scores ranged from 70% to 100%. The average score was 78% and the mode was 70%.

20. Program Evaluation Results • Questions that participants improved their scores on were in regards to: • Parts of the rain garden • Proper depth of a rain garden • Care of native grasses • Limited use of fertilizers in rain gardens • Follow-up survey looked at: • What participants learned • Number of rain gardens planted • Reasons participants may not have planted rain gardens

21. Follow-up Survey Results • Two residential gardens were planted. • Two participants plan to install rain gardens. • Reasons participants did not plant rain gardens: • Poor drainage on property • Labor • Cost

22. What’s Next? • Our fifth community demonstration garden was planted at the Springfield Municipal Building this spring. • USDA CSREES National Integrated Water Quality Grant.

23. Questions?

24. Thank You !