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Volunteering
Become a leader & resource for your community

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Adopt A Rain Garden!

• Current Master Rain Gardener Students: If you would like to adopt a rain garden in lieu of installing one to earn your Master Rain Gardener Certification, let us know! You will need to visit your adopted rain garden once per month for 1 year (excluding some winter months). Your instructor will send you a tracking sheet to record your visits, which can be submitted when your year is up to receive your MRG Certification.
• Master Rain Gardener Graduates: Looking for a way to give back, now that you're the 'neighborhood expert'? There are many rain gardens in need of adoption, and we welcome our graduates to continue using their experience to make their communities a more beautiful place after graduation. After all, your Rain Garden knowledge is valuable, whether you installed your own or adopted one to earn your certification.

Ready to adopt? First, check out the map of adoptable rain gardens. Then, get in touch with us. We'll help pair you with a rain garden that fits well with your location and needs! While many (but not all) of these gardens are on public property, please let us know before you begin work on the garden so we can communicate with the owner, and mark it as 'adopted'. 

Volunteer in the Community.

Master Rain Gardener Roger Moon giving a garden club tour of his rain garden.

Volunteer at Events

​Check the Events Calendar for volunteer opportunities at upcoming events, plant sales, classes, etc. We encourage you to host your own events too! If you decide to do a Rain Garden party, tour, etc. and would like us to advertise on the Master Rain Gardener website or facebook page, let us know! We're happy to provide resources and support.

Examples of events Master Rain Gardeners could volunteer for:

• Volunteers can help with educational activities like teaching about water quality at Rural Education Days, assisting with Schoolyard Rain Garden projects, or helping table at Earth Day or similar events.
• Knowledgeable and enthusiastic volunteers may be needed to help at plant sale events.
• Master Rain Gardener graduates will be needed to share their 'story of a rain garden', with new MRG classes, and possibly include a visit.
• As pictured above, MRG volunteers can give tours, or be part of a regional tour, to show off and educate about their Rain Gardens. 

​Group Rain Garden Projects​

​Check the Events Calendar for rain garden work in need of volunteers. If you have a community rain garden rehab or install project and would like support, get in touch with us. We'll share on the Master Rain Gardener  website and facebook group, and can let any current classes know of the opportunity. We are happy to provide feedback and suggestions if requested also. 

Ways that Master Rain Gardeners can make a difference with leading or participating in group rain garden projects:

• Rehab or maintain community rain gardens in parks, street corners, neighbors who need help, and more. ​
• Install or maintain rain gardens with local scout troops, church groups, garden clubs, and other community groups. 
• Activities during workdays can include weeding, planting, transplanting, seed collecting, pruning and sediment removal.

Be a Rain Garden Resource.

Every Master Rain Gardener has knowledge and experience that is valuable to their community. Maybe you don't feel comfortable teaching, or don't have time to adopt a rain garden. There are several ways you can be a resource on your own time!​

Here are some ideas (but really, the sky is the limit!):

• Help out Master Rain Gardeners-in-training in the Facebook group.
• Document your rain garden in some cool way that we could share online. YouTube? Stop motion photography? Be Creative!
• Share your rain garden: have a garden party where you show off your rain garden. Put your garden on a local garden tour.  Invite a local garden club.
• Give rain garden advice on social media. Does someone have a yard drainage question? Speak up!
• Keeping your rain garden beautiful and sharing photos of it gives Rain Gardens 'good PR'. Master Rain Gardener Linda Prieskorn created this collage of photos showing plants and wildlife in a rain garden!
• If you are out and notice a public rain garden the needs some 'TLC', let us know. We want all rain gardens to be beautiful!