Designing Rain Gardens for Stormwater Solutions
The Resilience and Innovation in Nature-based Stormwater Solutions (RAINSS) project works with schools and communities that encounter stormwater flooding. Using the RAINSS Curriculum, participants will explore stormwater issues, analyze available data, and design effective rain gardens to enhance local resilience.
Join Us!
Are you ready to empower your students or community to tackle a real-world environmental challenge? Join the pilot program for “Designing Rain Gardens for Stormwater Solutions” with AGI! By participating, you’ll recieve a set of engaging, hands-on lessons tailored to your school or outreach location. With AGI’s guidance and resources, you’ll inspire action and learning while addressing local stormwater issues.
What’s Involved?
- Commit to implementing one or more lessons in your classroom, program, or community during spring or summer 2025.
- Use AGI’s expert-developed curriculum to guide participants in designing impactful rain gardens.
- Explore the option of installing a rain garden in your community.
Get Involved Today! Contact Lauren Brase at lbrase@americangeosciences.org to learn more about this exciting initiative.
Do you already have a rain garden installed but want to take it to the next level? We offer a dynamic curriculum designed to turn your rain garden into a powerful teaching tool. Explore how students can engage with hands-on activities to evaluate green infrastructure and analyze real-world data. Check out our publication in NSTA’s The Science Teacher, “Rain Gardens and Rain Gauges: Students Get Hands on With Data While Evaluating Green Infrastructure at Their School,” for an in-depth look at what’s possible. Contact us to learn more.
RAINSS Curriculum
This curriculum can be used to help students and community members understand stormwater issues and design a rain garden as a possible solution on their school grounds or in a local area that floods after storms. There are also lessons specifically designed for middle or high school students that incorporate hands-on activities, real-world data analysis, and collaborative problem-solving. Each lesson within the curriculum can be customized to suit varying student needs and local environmental conditions. Educators and outreach specialists are encouraged to modify the content to align with their goals, resources, and time, ensuring relevance and impact.
Mapping Tools
Water Data
Weather Data
Soil Data
Project Funding
This work is supported by the Earth Science Information Partners, under an ESIP Small Lab Grant with support from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the United States Geologic Survey (USGS). Read more about the funded projects in this blog post, “Climate Change and Community: New ESIP Lab Awards.