University of Illinois Extension provides training to communities interested in building rain gardens, using the Rainscaping Education curriculum developed by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant and Purdue University Extension. Landscape practices such as rain gardens, which direct stormwater to be absorbed by soils, are of continued interest among Extension clientele and conservation partners. Through workshops, Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, and other community members learn about rain gardens and additional residential-scale green infrastructure techniques. Sessions cover an introduction to rainscaping and rain gardens with specific modules for rain garden site selection and plant selection as well as garden design, installation, maintenance, and community engagement. The program uses the flipped classroom model in which participants watch videos before each topic of the 15-hour in-person training, while the in-person training includes hands-on activities, interactive discussions, and field trips to community rainscaping projects to deepen learning. Participants gain experience through creation of a demonstration rain garden with community partners in a public space. Custom designed interpretive signs are available to be installed with each demonstration to promote education efforts. Participants are encouraged to attend as community teams to support implementation of public education programs and provide technical assistance for homeowners or small-scale public projects upon completion of the training. University of Illinois Extension offers the program collaboratively with Purdue University Extension, coordinated by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. This partnership began in 2021.
The 2021 Illinois Extension programs were offered four times in three locations with 36 participants:
- Effingham County, 5 participants
- Champaign County, 26 participants
- Jackson County, 5 participants
Effingham’s demonstration rain garden constructed as part of the workshop is located at the County Extension Office. The garden captures runoff from the parking lot and is 240 square feet and 12" deep. The Champaign class renovated an existing rain garden at a campus residence hall. The Jackson County class, sponsored by the Greater Egypt Regional Planning Commission, performed hands on maintenance at the rain garden they built during a pilot Rainscaping Education Program.
In 2022, Illinois Extension programs were offered in four locations with 62 participants:
- Macoupin County, 6 participants
- Rock Island County, 9 participants
- Hancock County, 25 participants
- Cook County, 22 participants
The Rock Island County program included additional information about NLRS. Cook County’s program offered coaching sessions teaching participants to design their individual rain gardens and if participants completed all sessions, they were awarded $200 each towards building them. Eleven participants qualified for these stipends, which were funded via a partnership with the Cook County Forest Preserve as part of the Conservation at Home Program.
A grant from the Extension Disaster Education Network funded the rain garden in Hancock County as part of a demonstration effort for stormwater management practices. The University of Illinois Extension partnered with Historic Nauvoo to present the Purdue Rainscaping program and design and install the demonstration rain garden. Historic Nauvoo has an estimated 100,000 visitors each year. The location is prime for educational efforts of how green infrastructure can serve to reduce the impact of flooding. The rain garden sites are 1,524 square feet in two linear sections along a highly traveled intersection to maximize visibility.
To further collaborative efforts and program sustainability, a train-the-trainer effort occurred at the end of 2021 and 2022 with University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension staff. Ten Illinois staff educators attended seven, one-hour sessions to learn how to host and teach the Rainscaping sessions.
For more information, see https://iiseagrant.org/work/sustainable-community-planning/programs-initiatives/purdue-rainscaping-education/.
