Your Account Email Sign-Up Buy Annual Pass

Stormwater Solutions: Expanding Community Resiliency through Rain Gardens

By Stephanie Kozak, Community Outreach Interpreter

On August 1, 2025, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks was awarded the EGLE Watershed Council Grant: Expanding Community Resiliency through Rain Gardens. This grant helps us support three main goals: expand stormwater education, increase stormwater resiliency, and provide job experience and employment opportunities. Now that we are about halfway through the grant timeline, we wanted to provide an update on our progress toward each of these goals.

Providing job experiences is one of the three main goals of our Expanding Community Resiliency Through Rain Gardens grant from EGLE. The Detroit Stormwater Specialist Training (SWSTs) program graduates from prior years have opportunities for contracts maintaining rain gardens and other native plant installations in the region.

 

  1. Expanding stormwater education across Southeast Michigan. We do this by offering more Master Rain Gardener Courses, Introduction to Rain Garden programs, and attending community events to share stormwater management strategies and teach about native plants.
    1. We have been hosting many Introduction to Rain Garden programs at libraries and community centers throughout the five counties of Southeast Michigan.
    2. We have also hosted three in-person Master Rain Gardener Courses at local libraries, and we have two more scheduled for August. One at the Lake Erie Marshlands Museum and another class at the DNR Outdoor Adventure Center. To find out more about these upcoming classes and register, visit the Metroparks Climate Classroom.
A variety of educational opportunities for community members have provided opportunities to learn more about rain gardens, participate in “plant swaps” where participants can trade plants, and even become a certified master rain gardener!
  1. Increase stormwater resiliency in equity communities within the Detroit and Rouge River Watersheds by encouraging participants and providing scholarships to help them install their own rain gardens.
    1. Through our Hand Tool Scholarships, we have awarded six scholarships that provide recipients with a gardening hand tool set.
    2. Through our Rain Garden Installation Scholarships, we have installed two residential rain gardens at the homes of Master Rain Gardener Graduates in Detroit.
  2. Provide job experience and employment opportunities for Detroit Stormwater Specialist Training (SWSTs) graduates by contracting them to help conduct maintenance and upkeep of the Lake Erie Metropark rain garden and assist with the installation of five residential scholarship rain gardens.
    1. The SWSTs have begun maintenance on the 2,735-square-foot rain garden at Lake Erie Metropark. Their work has already made a visible impact by helping native species maintain prominence in the rain garden.
    2. The SWSTs have also helped successfully install two residential rain gardens. We will have three more residential installations planned for the fall.

 

The grant has provided scholarship opportunities for community members to have rain gardens installed on their properties as well, increasing access to the benefits and beauty of rain gardens throughout the region.

We are excited about how the grant is progressing, and we are grateful to be able to offer scholarships and classes that give community members access to stormwater management strategies. To learn more about the grant and the opportunities it provides, check out our previous blog post here: https://www.metroparks.com/expanding-community-resiliency-through-rain-gardens/

Back To Top
Search