Central Ohio Rain Garden Initiative

2010 Annual Report

MAIN GOAL: To Collect 1 billion gallons of water through rain garden establishment

Steering Committee Members Traci Aquara Heart of Ohio RC&D Council Carol Bessey Franklin County Master Gardeners Eric Beverly City of Westerville Paula Brooks Franklin County Commissioner Tony Collins City of Gahanna Parks & Recreation Mary Ann Core NRCS Laura Fay FLOW Amy Dutt Urban Wild/FLOW Catherine Eichel Brown & Caldwell Jennifer Fish Franklin Soil and Water David Hull City of Columbus Kristi Crissinger Friends of the Scioto River Alan Little City of Gahanna Parks & Recreation Maureen Lorenz City of Columbus Parks & Recreation Jodee Lowe City of Grove City Kari Mackenbach URS Corp. Mary Maloney Chadwick Arboretum/Master Gardeners Brian McCombs City of Delaware Kelly McCutcheon Malcolm Pirnie Deba Mohler Heart of Ohio RC&D Council Tina Mohn City of Columbus Parks & Recreation David Moore Tetra Tech Anita Musser City of Columbus Dept. of Public Utilities Kaylee Port City of Marysville/Union Soil and Water Alex Rozanski City of Dublin Tom Russell City of Columbus Sewers and Drains David Rutter MORPC AJ Smith BBC&M Engineering, Inc. Stephanie Suter Franklin Soil and Water Vinnie Tremante Williams Creek Consulting Matt Trokan Sierra Club Joe Tribble FLOW Emily Weber Franklin Soil and Water Kim Williams FLOW Frank Wiseman City of Westerville

OUR MISSION: To promote the benefits of rain gardens for community beautification and clean water

The Central Ohio Rain Garden Initiative (CORGI) was established in 2007 and is a collaborative effort to promote the benefits of rain gardens for community beautification and clean water. 2010 was the third year of the initiative and the most productive in our existence. The following are some interesting facts about the rapid growth of rain gardens in central Ohio:

♦ In 2006, there were only 3 reported rain gardens in central Ohio.

♦ In 2008, there were 23 rain gardens that collected approximately 800,000 gallons of rainwater.

♦ At the close of 2010, there were 169 reported rain gardens that collected over 46.5 million gallons of rainwater.

♦ An additional 20 to 30 rain gardens are in the planning stages for early 2011 construction. This annual report outlines CORGI’s strategic goals and objectives and the progress made during 2010. We look forward to partnering with you in 2011 to provide education and technical assistance to help with rain garden assessment, design, and planting plans. Assistance is available for residents, community organizations, municipalities, and businesses. Sincerely, Stephanie A. Suter Steering Committee Chairperson

EDUCATION Goal: Educate central Ohio residents regarding the benefits of rain gardens for community beautification and clean water. Accomplishments:

♦ Developed technical outreach brochure for education; 6,000 were distributed in 2010. ♦ Developed and produced a suggested planting list. ♦ Obtained marketing materials – CORGI coffee mugs and rain garden yard signs were procured

for public outreach. ♦ A PowerPoint presentation was developed and used for public education and outreach. ♦ Two rain garden workshops:

• October 2008: A mixed workshop for residents and technical professionals was conducted at ODOT with approximately 150 in attendance. Coffee mugs were given out.

• May 2010: A residential workshop was conducted for approximately 30 attendees. ♦ Governor’s Green Halloween Event – A booth with outreach materials was manned by CORGI

volunteers. Coffee mugs were given out. ♦ Hosted social event for nursery owners and local growers to identify potential outreach

opportunities. ♦ Twenty-seven residential rain gardens were installed this year. ♦ Canal Winchester Middle School – Assisted an after school program with rain garden education

and installation. ♦ Indianola Children’s Center Rain Garden – Coordinated with Friends of the Lower Olentangy

Watershed and Amy Dutt on the construction of a rain garden. ♦ Annehurst Elementary School - K-5th grade students planted this rain garden used for

educational tours. There are three more elementary schools that want to implement a similar program for their schools in 2011.

♦ Linworth High School – Assisted with rain garden planning for installation on Earth Day. ♦ Dublin Coffman High School – Provided technical support for a rain garden design that was

installed as part of a senior project. ♦ Dublin Sells Elementary School – Provided technical support to the school for the design and

construction of a rain garden. ♦ Marburn Academy – Provided technical assistance for the design and construction of a rain

garden. ♦ Athens Soil and Water Conservation District – Presented CORGI organization and “lessons

learned” to assist in their startup of a similar rain garden initiative in Athens County. ♦ Developed a ranking system to select targeted neighborhoods for rain garden installation. ♦ Over 270,000 people reached (website, news articles, workshops, brochures, and TV news).

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Goal: Provide technical assistance to central Ohio residents, local governments, and other public and private entities regarding the installation of rain gardens. Accomplishments: In addition to the technical assistance outlined under the EDUCATION goals above, we have accomplished the following:

♦ Model code and ordinance language has been developed by the Steering Committee and will be posted to the website in 2011.

♦ Provided input on downspout disconnection to the Westerville Service Department and the City of Gahanna.

Brook Run Demonstration Project. In 2010, CORGI installed 18 residential and six roadside rain gardens in Westerville’s Brook Run neighborhood. This project, funded by OEPA’s Ohio Environmental Education Fund, reached over 270,000 central Ohio residents through educational brochures and workshops, newsletters, news articles, and television news stories. Storm water monitoring both before and after the installation of rain gardens will determine how effective they are in reducing storm water from the area and preventing it from entering and polluting Condit-Nichols Ditch, a tributary to Spring Run in the Alum Creek Watershed. CORGI partnered with Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District and The Ohio State University on this project.

Additional details and project updates on this project can be found under the “Our Projects” tab of the CORGI website at:

www.centralohioraingardens.org

FUNDING Goal: Identify and secure funding sources for CORGI and rain garden planning, design, construction, and monitoring. Accomplishments:

♦ Formed a Funding Committee to identify resources to support the mission and goals of CORGI.

♦ Scioto Gardens, Spence Restoration, and URS provided suggested planting lists to use as resource information.

♦ Secured an Ohio Environmental Education Fund Grant that paid for development of the CORGI website, 15,000 rain garden brochures, and residential rain garden construction for the Brook Run Demonstration Project (approximately $50,000).

♦ CORGI partnered with The Ohio State University and the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District on a grant from the Ohio Water Development Authority for the Brook Run Demonstration Project to enhance the monitoring and install right-of-way rain gardens in addition to the residential rain gardens (approximately $200,000).

♦ Created educational and outreach signs and made them available for sale to build a project fund – eight signs have been sold to date.

WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT Goal: Create and maintain an educational CORGI website to promote our mission and goals.

Accomplishment: www.centralohioraingardens.org

OUR PARTNERS

Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District

Franklin County Board of Commissioners

Natural Resources Conservation Service

Heart of Ohio RC&D Council

City of Columbus

City of Delaware

City of Dublin

City of Gahanna

City of Grove City

City of Marysville

City of Westerville

Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission

Sierra Club, Ohio Chapter

Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed

Friends of Alum Creek and Tributaries

Friends of the Scioto River

Malcolm Pirnie

Tetra Tech

Urban Wild

BBC&M Engineering

URS Corp.

Williams Creek Consulting

Brown and Caldwell

Franklin County Master Gardeners

OSU Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens