In January 2015, Memphis-Shelby County Office of Sustainability and Shelby County Engineering program with support from Tennessee Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects received a $20,000 Green Development Grant. On June 20, over 40 community volunteers installed four rain gardens at the Peggy W. Edmiston Administration Building on Mullins Station Road.
Mayor Mark H. Luttrell Jr. said, “This rain garden installation emphasizes the importance of good conservation and stewardship of our resources, plus the event gave the citizens a way to give back through volunteer work.”
Design work, plant selection, and illustrative drawings were provided by Tennessee Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and earthwork by Shelby County Engineering. Memphis-Shelby County Office of Sustainability will offer multiple educational sessions to homeowners in upcoming workshops this fall.
Last year through a Green Development Grant and with the help of partners, the office hosted a two-day conference with subsequent LID design competition that drew entries from 28 firms on eleven teams. The purpose was to feature low impact development as a way to treat stormwater on site through natural infiltration.
Thus far in Shelby County there are 25 under development or completed sites that have a low impact development feature such as a rain garden, porous pavement or bioswale. The Office of Sustainability expects this number will continue to increase.
Click here to learn how to plant your own rain garden.
Click here to watch the gardens being installed.
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