Virtual workshop offered Jan. 30 on rain gardens and native plants – KPCnews.com

FORT WAYNE The public is invited to attend a virtual Rain Gardens and Native Plants Workshop on Jan. 30 from 10-11:30 am.

Presenters will broadcast live from the Purdue Universitys Environmental Resource Center. The workshop is designed for the beginner and will especially be of interest to people who are thinking about installing a rain garden with native plants. Information regarding available cost-share assistance to install rain gardens will be provided.

Citizens can help reduce stormwater runoff by installing rain gardens in their yards. A rain garden is a landscaped area that holds rain water runoff for a few hours to a few days. The benefit of using native plants in a rain garden is that they are well adapted to their natural surroundings and do not require a lot of maintenance, fertilizers or pesticides. Rain gardens and native plants help the soil soak up water and improve the quality of the water that does run off.

Presenters will be Stacy Haviland, landscape architect and community development manager with the City of Fort Wayne, and Martha Ferguson, owner of Riverview Native Nursery.

Registration is not necessary. For more information, contact Sharon Partridge, stormwater specialist with the Maumee Watershed Alliance, ssp2655@gmail.com or 755-8111.

The workshop is sponsored by the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative, the Maumee Watershed Alliance, the Northeastern Indiana Regional Coordinating Council and Purdue Universitys Environmental Resource Center. Funding to support this outreach event was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through an Indiana Department of Environmental Management Clean Water Act grant awarded to the St. Joseph River Watershed Initiative.

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Virtual workshop offered Jan. 30 on rain gardens and native plants - KPCnews.com