Rain Garden

This rain garden at MU advances the three pillars of sustainability by combining environmental preservation, social justice, and economic vitality. The neighboring roof’s downspout was redirected so rainwater flows into the garden, reducing storm water runoff by retaining and filtering water through percolation and evapotranspiration. Planted with native species, it replaces turf monoculture with an attractive, naturally biodiverse ecosystem that draws beneficial insects and birds. The garden was created through a collaboration between the Center for Sustainability and 25 landscape artists during the Native Plants in the Landscape Conference at MU in June 2014, and participants earned continuing education credits in a workshop on functional and aesthetic rain gardens led by Kevin Staso and Claudia West of North Creek Nurseries. It also serves as a working example for the MU community to use in home landscapes, while rain gardens are presented as cost-effective and low-maintenance because they do not require pruning, mulching, or mowing.

Millersville, Pennsylvania · United States