URBANA, Noticias — When tending to a rain garden, one of the most useful tools may not be a shovel or secateurs, but a map. An interactive map of the Red Oak Rain Garden shows plans for planting native plants in the garden. This facilitates maintenance and helps visitors learn about native plants.
The Red Oak Rain Garden is a 10,000 square foot flood prevention landscape on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. A new online map, available at go.illinois.edu/RORGmap, shows how nearly 60 different native plant species are located in the park, with photos and descriptions of the plants, such as growing conditions and habits.
"Some native plants become weeds when they sprout from the ground, and gardeners don't know what to pull," said C. Iliana Brown, a stormwater and water quality specialist at the University of Illinois and Illinois-Indiana. . “This map eliminates ambiguity by telling volunteers what the target is so they can demystify it. The map is accessible through a mobile device, giving gardeners access to rain garden information when they need it most.”
Rain gardens help absorb and filter stormwater rather than allowing it to overflow into septic systems and contribute to flooding. Before the Red Oak Rain Garden was installed, pedestrians avoided flooded sidewalks between Allen Hall and UIUC's McKinley Health Center. This ecologically engineered landscape can now extract 27,000 gallons of water from the site while providing wildlife habitat, beautiful green spaces and educational opportunities.
"We hope the map will help dispel the perception that a rain garden is difficult to maintain and allow other rain parks to be built," said Lynn Noh, Illinois Public Affairs Officer.
Illinois intern Pepper Seablock created the map with input from Brown, Notch and Rain Garden volunteers.
Illinois Extension and Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant staff direct and manage the park. Champaign County Gardeners, East Central Illinois Naturalists, student groups and horticulture classes volunteer to provide continuing education for community members and visitors.
Learn how to tour the Red Oak Rain Garden, garden in the rain and more at go.illinois.edu/RORG. learn more about it
About expansion
Illinois Extension leads public advocacy at the University of Illinois, translating research into action plans that empower Illinois families, businesses and community leaders to address challenges, make informed decisions and adapt to change and opportunity. Illinois Extension is part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
