RainScaping Newsletter
Welcome to the first edition of the RainScaping Newsletter. It's all about creating "Beautiful Solutions to Water Pollution!"
Homeowners and communities throughout Anne Arundel County are taking action to reduce polluted runoff and prevent it from reaching our waterways. RainScaping techniques include a number of innovative approaches that protect our waterways. These techniques range from simple measures that include installing rain gardens and rain barrels, planting native trees, and replacing hard surfaces with permeable surfaces—to more sophisticated measures such as larger bioretention and green roofs installations. By using these techniques and planting native plants that don't require fertilizers and pesticides, we will improve water quality in our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay, while creating habitats full of beauty and life where local birds and butterflies will thrive!
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Saturday, July 11th - Rain Garden Workshop9 a.m. - 1 p.m., at the Chesapeake Ecology Center at Adams Academy, 245 Clay Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. The workshop will cover: rain garden installation for different types of situations; plants appropriate for rain gardens; and a tour of eight rain gardens. Registration is required and there is a $10 fee (payable at the workshop) to cover materials and snacks. To register, send your name, phone number, and email address to: info@rainscaping.org.Full Article... |
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Saturday, July 18th - Free Workshops: RainScaping with Rain Barrels and Rain Gardens10 - 11 a.m. & noon - 1 p.m., at K&B True Value Hardware, 912 Forest Drive, Annapolis, MD 21403. Learn the "why, what, and where" of installing rain barrels and rain gardens to prevent stormwater runoff and get free water for your garden and other outdoor needs. This event is free, but pre-registration is requested (call 410-268-3939, email KBTrueValue@verizon.net, or visit the store to register) because these workshops fill up fast. Get 10% off products demonstrated at this workshop and K&B will donate 10% of those sales to the RainScaping Campaign. Also, K&B will raffle a beautiful "Advice From A Tree" rain barrel (see image) designed and painted by local artist, Julia Holmes, valued at $300! Raffle ticket sales began in mid-June. The winning ticket will be drawn July 18th at 1 p.m. All proceeds benefit the RainScaping Campaign.Full Article... |
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Did you know about Anne Arundel County's Tax Credit for installing rain barrels and rain gardens?Anne Arundel County property owners who install rain barrels, rain gardens or other stormwater controls are eligible for a property-tax credit equal to 10 percent of the cost of the improvement, for five years. The deduction is capped at $10,000 over the five years. Homeowners will receive a 10 percent credit for each of the five years, for 50 percent total.Full Article... |
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Did you know about Maryland's $25 Tree Credit?Obtain a coupon at--www.trees.maryland.gov/index.asp--worth $25 off the purchase of one tree with a retail value of $50 or more at all participating retail nurseries and garden centers. The discount is taken at the register at the time of the sale. This is not a mail-in reimbursement. One coupon must be filled in for each tree purchased. Coupons must be filled in completely and signed by the customer to be valid. Coupon reimbursement is for retail sales only. Wholesale tree sales do not qualify. The coupon is valid for trees listed on the Marylanders Plant Trees Recommended Tree List, online at: www.trees.maryland.gov/pickatree.asp. Full Article... |
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"Reduce Runoff—Slow It Down, Spread It Out, and Soak It In""Reduce Runoff—Slow It Down, Spread It Out, Soak It In," is the name of a new 9-minute video, produced by U.S. EPA's, Office of Wetlands, Oceans, and Watersheds (OWOW) . And we've borrowed the slogan for the RainScaping Campaign. We are very grateful for EPA's assistance, including their help with graphics for the campaign. See OWOW's new 9-minute video about reducing runoff online at: www.epa.gov/nps/lid.This new 9-minute video, "Reduce Runoff—Slow It Down, Spread It Out, Soak It In," highlights green techniques such as rain gardens, green roofs, and rain barrels that help manage stormwater runoff in a more sustainable manner. The film, produced in partnership with the U.S. Botanic Gardens, showcases green techniques that are being used in urban areas to minimize the impacts of stormwater runoff on the quality of downstream receiving waters. Full Article... |
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Crofton Stormwater Project57% of Crofton homes empty runoff into Beaver Creek, causing over 20 million gallons of stormwater to be piped into Beaver Creek with each inch of rain. The cost to manage that runoff in a stormwater facility would be $26.7 million! The rest have landscaping that receives the rain, cleans, infiltrates it into the ground, and allows it to become a constant flow to creeks and to aquifers from which drinking water is drawn.Full Article... |
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Thank you, Master Gardeners!Anne Arundel County Master Gardener volunteers have joined with 37 RainScaping Partners to help to implement the RainScaping Campagin to improve the health of Anne Arundel County's tributaries and the Bay.Full Article... |
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RainScaping Goes InternationalOn June 4th, an initiative* that brings foreign professionals to the U.S. to meet with their American counterparts and discuss issues of interest, brought a group of 12 distinguished environmentalists from Latin America to Annapolis. Their first stop was a visit to the Chesapeake Ecology Center's (CEC) 24 Native Plant Demonstration Gardens and Sites, located at Adams Academy Middle School. And, their feedback was so positive that the State Department asked the CEC to host another group of 19 international guests the very next week. Both groups were eager to hear about the CEC, rain gardens, and other rainscaping techniques to mitigate stormwater runoff.Full Article... |
The RainScaping Campaign—an Environmental Partnership for Stormwater Runoff Solutions—currently has 37 (and growing) partners, all with a common purpose of improving the health of our tributaries and the Chesapeake Bay by motivating a critical mass of residents to make RainScaping the norm in Anne Arundel County.
The campaign is supported by RainScaping.org, which includes information on stormwater runoff problems and solutions. To help you plan your rain garden or other conservation landscaping project, see our extensive native plant list. You'll also find calculators to help you determine the size of your rain garden, number of native plants needed, and amount of mulch needed. Also, there is an extensive Resources List on the Resources & Media Kit page. Please let us know if you find this website helpful and/or have suggestions for improvement.