Master Rain Gardener

Learn to design, dig and plant your own rain garden!!

Visit the Northeast Ohio Master Rain Gardener Website for the latest program details.

Share your knowledge and become your community’s expert on rain gardens. At the end of this 5-session course, you will become a Master Rain Gardener! Rain gardens capture and soak in rainwater that runs off hard surfaces like roofs and driveways while filtering pollutants that would otherwise flow to our storm drains and into our creeks and streams.

Hosted by Cuyahoga SWCD, Lake SWCD, and Chagrin River Watershed Partners.

Rain gardens work with nature to collect and filter rainwater that runs off impervious surfaces like rooftops and driveways. Impervious surfaces lead to increases in surface runoff and often result in increased flooding and stream bank erosion. As water travels over impervious surfaces it also has the potential to pick up pollutants. Polluted stormwater runoff enters our rivers and lakes and is one of the leading threats to water quality in the U.S.

This Master Rain Gardener Program will teach you how to manage rain water in your own yard. Rain gardens naturally manage stormwater by infiltrating precipitation and allowing it to soak into the ground rather than sending it directly to storm sewers and nearby streams untreated. Experienced instructors will provide customized feedback which will enable you to design and install a rain garden. Topics will include site assessment, soil analysis, design, construction, plant selection, mulching, and maintenance.

Program Coordinators: Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District, and Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District

Program Implementers: Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Cuyahoga Soil & Water Conservation District, Lake County Soil & Water Conservation District, and Summit Soil & Water Conservation District

Program Partners: Holden Forests and Gardens, Cleveland Metroparks, and NEOPIPE

Program Creator: Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner’s Office

Check out our Events page for Master Rain Gardener in-person and self-paced courses!