Master RAIN Gardener Class

Design your own rain garden step-by-step during class. Become the neighborhood expert!

Protect your home against flooding & help birds, & butterflies with a RAIN garden! During class, we teach you *everything* we know about rain gardens. That includes lessons learned from more than 1,000 rain gardens built by homeowners just like you. Learn what works and what doesn't. Ask questions! Visit a real rain garden! Earn your certification – including a t-shirt and sign - by building your own rain garden, or adopting a public rain garden.

Master Rain Gardeners help friends and neighbors to learn about, design and plant rain gardens. Recognize them by their Master Rain Gardener t-shirts!

2023 Master Rain Gardener Classes

winter 2023

Become a Master Rain Gardener – VIRTUAL! LIVE!

LIVE VIRTUAL Classroom with In-Person Tours

DATES: Five Thursdays: February 23 - March 23, 2023. ONLINE.

TIME: 10am – Noon.

TOUR DATES:

Washtenaw County Area: Feb 23, 1:00-2:30

Plymouth/Wayne County Area: March 9, 2-4pm

INSTRUCTORS: A regional collaboration - see photos below.

Stay safe and warm this winter - and plan your own rain garden from your own living room.

REGISTRATION: Register For the Class Here.

Ask questions in small groups in our live class! Visit a real rain garden in person! Facebook (or an alternate forum) for discussion/homework. Earn your certification – including a t-shirt and sign - by building your own rain garden, or adopting a public rain garden.

SPRING 2023

Become a Master Rain Gardener – IN PERSON CLASS!

DATES: Five Wednesday afternoons: April 19, 26, May 3,10,17. IN PERSON.

TIME: 12:00 to 2:30. Office hours 11:30, and until 3:00.

LOCATION: Rolling Hills County Park. 7660 Stony Creek Rd, Ypsilanti, MI 48197. The Great Room at the Lodge.

INSTRUCTORS: Susan Bryan (Washtenaw County Water Resources) & Meija Knafl (River Raisin Watershed Council).

REGISTRATION: Register for class here.

Learn with your neighbors in the classroom. Ask questions! Get feedback during office hours, in-person. We'll visit at least 2 rain gardens during class.

Teachers of the recorded class

Susan Bryan, Rain Garden Coordinator

Susan has been designing rain gardens for over ten years, and has mentored over 700 homeowners planting rain gardens. She developed the Master Rain Gardener program, and has spread it to six other municipalities. In Ann Arbor, she designed the Miller Avenue rain gardens and the Swift Run streetside rain gardens. She is a past President of Wild Ones, has a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Michigan, and is a Master Gardener.

Harry Sheehan, Chief Deputy Water Resources Commissioner

Harry is responsible for planning and financing ongoing Water Resources Office efforts and spearheading innovative projects that keep our rivers running clean.

Shannan Gibb-Randall, Principal at InSite Design Studio, Inc.

Shannan leads InSite Design’s ecologically sensitive landscape design work. Her background is in Art History and Landscape Architecture from the University of Michigan. Projects in her portfolio include the City of Ann Arbor Municipal Center, the Stone School roadside rain gardens, the Great Lakes Garden at Matthaei Botanical Gardens, and the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center Courtyard.