Interested in beautifying your yard with a free landscape feature? Want to help prevent pollution from entering our local waterways and impacting our local wildlife? Install a rain garden through the RainWise program and you will be helping prevent pollution from entering Lake Washington, Thornton Creek and the Puget Sound!
With support from the Russell Family Foundation, Sustainable Seattle’s Green Blocks Blue Sound program is working with neighbors in Ravenna-Bryant, Laurelhurst, Wedgwood, and Windermere to install clusters of rain gardens, cisterns and other forms of natural stormwater management. Rain gardens are an efficient, beautiful and relatively low-cost way to address an environmental problem. They collect water from your roof, driveway and other hard surfaces, allowing it to soak into planted beds rather than flow down the nearest stormdrain.
Right now, Seattle Public Utilities is offering rebates through the RainWise program to help residents in priority zones pay for the installation of rain gardens and cisterns. The Ravenna-Bryant, Laurelhurst, Wedgwood, and Windermere neighborhoods all have residents in one of these zones. To learn if you are eligible, visit the RainWise website (RainWise.Seattle.gov).
Sustainable Seattle’s Green Blocks Blue Sound program is interested in working with you to take advantage of this rebate offer and install a rain garden or cistern on your property! Our goal is to construct rain garden and cistern clusters with 5 to 8 homes in the same area. In addition to providing more measurable water quality benefits, we see the installation of these clusters as the first step in building a stronger, greener neighborhood. By the end of the project, your neighborhood will have an inspiring rain garden cluster, an active sustainability conversation, and a more connected community!
If you are interested, Green Blocks Blue Sound can work with you to develop green infrastructure ideas for your property, connect you with contractors, and provide support through the design and installation of rain gardens and cisterns. We want to educate, support and inspire you and your neighbors to adopt a sustainable lifestyle and will work with your neighborhood to adopt other sustainability practices.
Rain Garden Map
Interested in learning more? Contact Hannah at Hannahk@sustainableseattle.org or visit www.sustainableseattle.org/programs/neighborhoodprograms.