We are thrilled to have completed our one-year UW-Madison Arboretum WATER grant project this summer! In the WATER (Water Action to Encourage Responsibility) project, the UW-Madison Arboretum along with neighborhood, city, and county partners in the Lake Wingra watershed worked together to pilot programs and neighborhood-focused actions that minimize the harmful effects of stormwater that […]
Friends of Lake Wingra WATER Grant Read More »
by David Thompson April 14, 2022 In October of 2012, Jack Nolan asked the Friends of Lake Wingra for help in selecting an Eagle Scout project. Jack wanted to do something to help the lake, and after I gave Jack a tour of the watershed, learning about some of its problems, Jack decided to build a
Building a Rain Garden at Thoreau School Read More »
On June 16, 2021 at 9 a.m. the City of Madison formally dedicated a new rain garden to Roger Bannerman. You can find it on the corner of Sheldon Street and Fox Avenue. The rain garden right off the Southwest Commuter Path reflects Roger’s lifelong work to protect our freshwater resources. Roger’s wife Jane spoke
Roger Bannerman Rain Garden Dedication Read More »
The Department of Natural Resources has a new and improved rain garden manual for your use! Rain Gardens: A Guide for Homeowners and Landscapers, the new manual, discusses the three main steps to designing a rain garden for your home: Step 1 – sizing and siting, Step 2 – constructing, and Step 3 – Planting
A Statewide Accomplishment: A New DNR Rain Garden Manual Read More »
By Roger Bannerman Rain gardens help improve the quality of our lakes by capturing pollutants and infiltrating runoff. One additional benefit for Lake Wingra is that increased infiltration can help restore spring flows, which is the main source of year-round flows into Lake Wingra. Out of the 600 rain gardens that have been installed around
How Rain Gardens Help Lake Wingra Read More »
One of our watershed residents, Liz McBride, recently took up the cause of promoting the installation of rain gardens during a recent street reconstruction process. Liz learned that the City of Madison had received a grant which lowered the cost of a terrace rain garden for eligible property owners to $100 for a limited time.
Successful Rain Garden Promotion Effort! Read More »
Homeowners in many parts of the country are catching on to rain gardens – landscaped areas planted to wild flowers and other native vegetation that soak up rain water, mainly from the roof of a house or other building. The rain garden fills with a few inches of water after a storm and the water
