Elk Grove Community
Elk Grove Rain Garden Plaza
The City of Elk Grove's Rain Garden Plaza, located on Laguna Springs Drive across from Colton Park, is the first comprehensive large-scale rain garden in the Sacramento region and the State of California.
It's a beautiful, serene open space with gardens that is a magnet for wildlife - as well as one that is low maintenance and habitat-friendly.
The Elk Grove Rain Garden Plaza is designed to educate and build community awareness to conserve water resources, improve water quality, attract wildlife habitat, and promote watershed stewardship through both passive learning and hands-on fun interactive educational components. The Project features a creatively-designed and aesthetically-pleasing outdoor open space that includes a rain garden, biofiltration swales, pervious paving systems, water harvesting features, and California native, drought resistant plants. The Rain Garden Plaza features low-impact development (LID) practices that work with nature to manage stormwater as close to its source as possible by incorporating “river-friendly” landscaping techniques. The Rain Garden Plaza acts like a living laboratory teaching people of all ages to have fun as they learn about sustainable stormwater practices.
The Rain Garden Plaza also features a canopied picnic area, fitness equipment, and local artwork.
“The unique and creative solutions to preserve our natural resources today, will lead to a better tomorrow and sustainable urban regeneration for the future.”
Elk Grove Rain Garden Podcast
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What is a rain garden?
Rain gardens are shallow depressions in the landscape designed to catch and filter rainwater from roofs and pavements, allowing stormwater runoff to be used for plant growth and soil enrichment rather than allowing it to run directly into the storm drainage system.
Rain gardens provide an inexpensive and effective way of maintaining eco-friendly landscaping within an urban area. They require little maintenance with little or no fertilizers or pesticides. Rain gardens also improve the appearance of developed sites, absorb noise, provide beneficial wildlife habitat, and reduce heat.
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Elk Grove Rain Garden Awards
Elk Grove Rain Garden Receives Prestigious Regional and Statewide Awards
The Rain Garden Plaza is the first comprehensive large-scale rain garden in California. The Project was recognized by the California Parks and Recreation Society with an Award of Excellence for the design. This award is the highest form of recognition offered by the CPRS, which represents more than 4,000 park and recreation professionals throughout California. It also, received the CPRS District 2 “Award of Excellence for Facility Design and Park Planning” for the Sacramento region.
The Rain Garden Plaza has received the prestigious California Stormwater Quality Association 2012 Outstanding Sustainable Stormwater Project Award, the Laguna Creek Watershed Council Green Seal Award and the Sacramento Environmental Commission Award of Leadership. The Project was named Sacramento Magazine’s 2012 Best New Park and the 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers Sacramento Section Sustainability Project of the Year. The Rain Garden Plaza is located at 9385 Laguna Springs Drive, adjacent to Elk Grove City Hall.
Awards
- Laguna Creek Watershed Council Green Seal Award
- California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) 2012 Outstanding Sustainable Stormwater Project Award
- Sacramento Magazine’s 2012 Best of Sacramento Award for Best New Park
- 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers Sacramento Section Sustainability Project of the Year
- 2012 California Park & Recreation Society Award of Excellence
- 2012 California Park & Recreation Society - Sacramento Region Award of Excellence for Facility Design and Park Planning
- 2012 Sacramento Environmental Commission Award of Leadership
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