Step 4 - Location and Size of Rain Garden

Now that you have walked the campus, gathered all of the maps and materials you need, talked to the facilities manager, surveyed your fellow students and teachers, and listed the problem areas or potential areas for your rain garden, here are things to consider when locating and sizing your rain garden.

Make sure you do not plan your rain garden in a riparian buffer, too close to the foundation, and other factors listed below in the “Location” section. Also, be sure to design a manageable rain garden – make sure it is a size that can be maintained well by your class. Check out the maintenance requirements in Step 13.

● Two primary factors to consider when designing a rain garden are:

     ● Planning the location of your rain garden
     ● How to determine the size of your rain garden
     

**NOTE: Now is an excellent time to call your local Cooperative Extension Office to have them test the soil. They will do this free of charge.  A good soil mix for a rain garden is 50% sand, 20% topsoil, and 30% compost. If the soil onsite contains less than 10% clay, then it can be used in place of imported topsoil in the mix.  It is possible you may be able to use the existing soil, but if it is not in good condition, you may have to spend some money on new soil and/or amendments such as lime, gypsum and specific nutrients.