April 2007

The Right Spot for a Rain Garden

By:

NGA Staff

Overview

The first step in rain garden design is scouting an appropriate site. This activity challenges students to explore one aspect of this process: soil drainage assessment. (For full background information about the purpose of rain gardens and basic design principles, please read Rain Gardens to the Rescue.)

The Right Size for a Rain Garden

By:

NGA Staff

Overview

Students will use math skills to determine how large their rain garden must be to effectively manage stormwater runoff at a chosen location.

Materials

Measuring tape
Graph paper
Pencils
Calculators

Rain Gardens to the Rescue

Absorbing Stormwater Runoff...and Student Interest!

Also known as a bioretention system, a rain garden is a landscape feature planted in a shallow depression designed to capture stormwater runoff. Once collected, stormwater is slowly absorbed into and filtered by the soil. As a result, rain gardens decrease the amount of water and pollutants entering municipal drainage systems and natural waterways.

From the Garden to the Sea

Students Fight Pollution Where It Puddles

Before Photo: Site of the future LEGO Rain GardenThe 10 fifth grade students in the FIRST LEGO League Team at Greenbrier Intermediate School in Chesapeake, Virginia received the following challenge in the fall of 2005: "Choose an ocean or sea activity or resource and trace its impact on our oceans’ health, biodiversity, and productivity. Learn what the experts are doing in this area, and identify a challenge they are facing.

Planning a Rain Garden

Submitted by admin on Fri, 09/25/2009 - 13:00

Students can make "mudshakes" to explore soil texture and drainage capacity.Overview: The first step in designing a rain garden is scouting an appropriate site. This activity challenges students to explore one aspect of the process: soil drainage assessment. (For full background information about the purpose of rain gardens and basic design principles, please read Rain Gardens to the Rescue.)