<img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-695" title="hdr_conservation_station" src="http://aecetia.net/gws/aazk/wp-content/uploads/hdr_conservation_station-300x114.gif" alt="hdr_conservation_station" width="300" height="114" />

<em>Mary Ann Cisneros
AAZK Conservation Committee</em>

Spring has sprung and an early summer planting of a rain garden will not only leave your lawn looking lovely but your “green” conscious clear.  Rain gardens are landscaped areas using native plants that reduce storm water runoff and can provide considerable environmental benefits to your community.  Besides being aesthetically pleasing, rain gardens reduce flooding, protect streams and lakes from pollutants carried by urban storm water runoff, and increase the amount of water filtering into the ground to help recharge local aquifers.  An added bonus is that a new habitat is created for birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects.

<span>In 2009, two events at Mesker Park Zoo promoted and celebrated the establishment of rain gardens in our community.  The first event was the installation of a rain garden at our new entrance.  Using a grant from the local Soil and Water Conservation District, MPZ AAZK partnered with several groups to bring this demonstration garden to Mesker Park Zoo and Botanic Garden.  Our own grounds curator and staff, University of Southern Indiana (USI) students and faculty, and the Evansville Zoological Society worked together to provide visitors an example of a way to bring conservation home.   The zoo used the planting day to teach about the mechanics of rain gardens and had volunteers (lucky USI students and MPZ AAZK members) perform the dirty work.  The second event was a dedication a few months after the planting so that visitors could get a look at the garden as it began to establish itself.

Both these events also allowed the Soil and Water Conservation District to promote their Backyard Conservation Grant.  This grant provided a cost-share/rebate program for citizens in Vanderburgh County who put in a rain garden.

The rain garden at the zoo was and is a success.  It is a beautiful addition to our zoo landscape and an ambassador for backyard conservation that is hard to ignore when visitors walk through our gates.  It is a happy coincidence that, in order to quench their thirst from our drinking fountains, guests have a great view of it!

Now for you DIY’s out there! A rain garden can be put in cheaply and, once they become fully established (around two years) little or no maintenance is required of them.  So if you want your yard to be a first defense against flooding in your neighborhood and pollutants getting into local waterways please check out the following websites:

http://clean-water.uwex.edu/pubs/pdf/rgmanual.pdf,

http://www.meskerparkzoo.com/conservation/garden.php

They will give you the nitty gritty on rain garden construction for your yard.  They also provide design plans and plants that will work in your area.  Be sure to look to your local Soil and Water Conservation District to see if there is any financial assistance available for making your yard greener.  Use your resources and let’s start planting for a cleaner environment!

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