Pollinator Rain Garden

EcoTopic / Project Category

Education & Awareness, Habitat & Wildlife, Water

Rule Label

Project Goal Summary

The Pollinator Rain Garden project has three main goals 1) beautify the community, 2) provide season long forgage for native polliantors, 3) restore habitat, 4) filter runoff and increase water quality in nearby waterways, and 5) help recharge local groundwater. The 40 x 40 ft garden will be planted in a subdivision drainage that has been overtaken by an exotic annual grass, and will be designated as the city's first Polliantor Rain Garden. The garden will feature native flowering plants including Aquilegia coerulea, Gaillardia aristata, Rudbeckia hirta, Penstemon strictus, Echinacea angustifolia, and Asclepias incarnata.

Rule Label

Project Location

Gillette, WY 82718
United States

Rule Label

Share more details about your Project:

Project Goals and News

The Pollinator Rain Garden was installed in the summer of 2017 to help beautify a city drainage in a local neighborhood that was overrun by exoitc annual grasses.
Success will be measured based on native plant recruitment, number of pollinators visiting the site, number of community partnerships built, and level of community engagement.
To save on costs, the site was planted with native perennials left over from the Master Gardeners local tree and plant sale. Cardboard was used for weed suppression and mulch was provided by teh Master Gardeners to help retain moisture. A local Master Gardener volunteer offered to water and weed the site until the plants had become established.
During the first summer, we lost a few plants to herbivory and drought, but overall the garden has been a success. The project involves three community partners, the city Parks Division, local Master Gardener group, and local Conservation District office. We also installed a “pollinator friendly garden” sign purchased from The Xerces Society to help explain the purpose of the garden. This simple act helped elevate the level of community involvement with project, and has inspired similar gardens around the community.
Summer 2018, we will monitor pollinaot visits and native plant recruitment, as well as, host a rain garden workshop.

Rule Label

Tag Your Project

Rain garden, pollinator garden, citizen science

Rule Label

What other social media platforms is your project active on?

Project Materials and Documents

[Spacer]