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Rain Gardens to the Rescue

Photo used by permission of Greenbrier Intermediate School

Spring is a time of abundant moisture in many parts of the world. As snow melts and rain falls, making puddles in parking lots and playgrounds, it’s an ideal time to introduce your students to the world of rain gardens.

This month’s feature is inspired by the many schools and youth groups that have created rain gardens to tackle pollution caused by stormwater runoff. Students who have a hand in helping solve real-world problems with their knowledge and academic skills gain confidence in their ability to make a difference in the world...and this feeds their desire to learn and take on greater challenges. Read on to find background information, lessons, and supporting resources to get your class started on a rewarding rain garden adventure!

Lessons and Activities

Rain Gardens to the Rescue! – Get the lowdown how these specially designed gardens remediate stormwater runoff, and how they can fit into your schoolyard and curriculum.

Lesson: The Right Spot for a Rain Garden – Learn about soil particles and investigate the drainage properties of soil in the schoolyard.

Lesson: The Right Size for a Rain Garden – Assess the amount of stormwater runoff on your school grounds and just how big a rain garden needs to be to handle it all.

From the Garden to the Sea – This month's program spotlight shines on a Virginia school's award-winning rain garden project.

Additional Web Resources

Rain Garden Curriculum - An exemplary curriculum developed by the University of Wisconsin-Madison takes you through the entire process of developing a rain garden in 16 multidisciplinary lessons.

Rain Garden Lessons – This unit provides the foundation for a service-learning project for a high school biology class.

Water Resources Challenge – A series of assessment explorations provides a great way for middle- and high-school students to hone real-world research and critical thinking skills.

Water Wise Kids – And here you'll find some explorations suited to younger students.

Farnsworth Aerospace Magnet School – These students have been involved in creating community rain gardens to collect rooftop run-off for several years. Check out the photos of some of their projects.


What's New?

Visit our Kids Garden News page to find out about funding opportunities, gardening resources, youth gardening conferences, and more.

New Edition of The Growing Classroom The second edition of this garden-based-education classic contains 150 field-tested activities from the first edition, as well as new and revised content and an expanded gardening resource section. Targeted to grades 2 through 5. Order The Growing Classroom here.

See sample activities featured in Kids' Garden News