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During the summer of 2010 the Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District and UVM Extension Lake Champlain Sea Grant are partnering to hold the 3rd Annual Rooftop to River Rain Garden Contest. A special thanks to the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources for supporting this project!
A rain garden is an attractive, landscaped garden that is used to treat stormwater runoff (water generated from rain fall or snowmelt), usually from a roof, parking lot, or other impervious surface. The goal of the Rain Garden Contest is to encourage the installation of rain gardens to reduce the volume of stormwater entering local water bodies and improve water quality in the Lake Champlain Basin, and in particular, in stormwater-impaired streams in Chittenden County.
To enter the 2010 Rooftop to River Rain Garden Contest, your rain garden must be located in the Lake Champlain Basin (see www.lcbp.org for a map). Six winners will be chosen based on predetermined categories (originality, native plants, stormwater reduction, best previously installed, best in Chittenden County, best in Lake Champlain Basin outside of Chittenden County). Participants of the contest will receive:
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An invitation to FREE rain garden workshops
- The Vermont Rain Garden Manual
- FREE on-site technical guidance from a local expert
Registration is free and open until August 15, 2010. Gardens will be judged in early September. Register early to attend rain garden workshops and receive free technical assistance. To register, download the 2010 Rooftop to River Rain Garden Contest Flyer and Registration Form and submit it by August 15th to the address/e-mail listed.
Winners of the 2009 Vermont Rain Garden Contest
In late August volunteer judges visited the gardens in the contest and selected the following six gardens, which stood out in various categories, as winners of the 2009 Vermont Rain Garden Contest:
- Best in Chittenden County: Laurie Wight and her students (Essex Middle School)
- Best outside of Chittenden County: Claudia Clark and the Plainfield Conservation Commission (Mill Street Park, Plainfield)
- Most Original in Chittenden County: Allaire Diamond and Seth Maciejowski (residents in Williston)
- Most Original outside of Chittenden County: Ian Ambler (landscape designer) and Mary Evslin (resident in Stowe)
- Best Stormwater Reduction: Jack Price of Central Vermont Trout Unlimited and Mark Keffer (Mount Mansfield High School, Jericho)
- Best Do-It-Yourself Rain Garden: Deb Healey (resident in Vergennes)
Congratulations to the winners of the contest and to everyone who installed a rain garden this summer!
Vermont Rain Garden Manual and Plant List Insert.
The manual and plant list can be downloaded for free by clicking on The Manual and The Plant List Insert in the following table. Printed manuals, in full color, are available for $6 each. Please make checks payable to “WNRCD” and mail them to: Ashley Lidman, Winooski NRCD, 1193 South Brownell Rd, Suite 35, Williston, VT 05495.
Vermont Rain Garden Manual with Plant List
Free Download |
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The Manual
(a pdf file, size 2.2Mb)
20 Pages, Full Color
Prints on 8.5x11 paper |
The Plant List Insert
(a pdf file, size .2Mb)
(Pages 11-14 of the manual)
Prints on 11x17 paper.
(This can be viewed without printing if unable to print the large size paper.)
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Contact Information
For information about rain garden workshops and technical assistance, contact Laura Killian at lkillian@uvm.edu or 802-859-3086 x340.
For further details about registration and the Contest, contact Ashley Lidman at Ashley.Lidman@vt.nacdnet.net or 802-865-7895 x104.
Prizes and Contest Sponsors
The 2009 contest winners received prizes that were generously donated by:
- Marijke's Perennial Gardens Plus
- Shelburne Farms
- Lake Champlain Chocolates
- Green Mountain Coffee
- Gardener's Supply Company
- Intervale Conservation Nursery
- Intervale Compost Products
If you would like to donate a prize for the 2010 Rain Garden Contest, please write to Ashley.Lidman@vt.nacdnet.net.
The 2010 Rain Garden Contest is put on by the Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District and UVM Extension Lake Champlain Sea Grant. This project was funded in part by a Vermont Watershed Grant. Thanks to the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources!
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Rain Garden at the Library in Williston
A rain garden is a bowl-shaped garden designed to capture and absorb rainfall and snowmelt (collectively referred to as “stormwater”). When stormwater runs off impervious surfaces such as parking lots, roofs, compacted soils, and roads, it accumulates pollutants and delivers them to a nearby lake or river either directly or via a storm drain. Stormwater pollutants typically include sediment; nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus); bacteria from animal waste; and oil, grease, and heavy metals from cars. Stormwater also causes increased flooding, which erodes stream banks resulting in additional problems. However, if captured by a rain garden, stormwater soaks into the ground and recharges the groundwater at a rate 30% greater than that of a typical lawn. Ultimately, if we all work together to create landscape features that absorb the stormwater, we can restore and help preserve the waterways that make Vermont so beautiful.
Pictures of Winning Rain Gardens
"Most Original in Chittenden County"
"Most Original outside of Chittenden County"
"Best outside of Chittenden County"
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