Project-Based Learning: Design and Build a Rain Garden
Lesson plan with video, grades 9–12
Video
Description
Stormwater runoff is one of the great urban challenges of our time. In cities that are covered with impervious surfaces—roofs, streets, and parking lots—stormwater flows rapidly over these surfaces, picking up pollutants and delivering them right into our water sources.
In a natural environment, stormwater gets absorbed into the ground where soil, rocks, and plant roots filter the water. A rain garden is designed to mimic this process by slowing the flow and absorbing stormwater before it hits our waterways.
This set of materials is designed to be used in conjunction with our Sustainable Urban Design Toolkit. If you have decided that a rain garden is the right project for your school, use these lessons to take your students from the design and engineering phase to installation. Use project-based learning to engage your students with nature by beautifying the school community and reducing stormwater impacts in your area. Become part of a network of schools across the country and create your own stormwater solution!
Downloads
Teacher Materials
- Design and Build a Rain Garden Teacher's Guide
PDF Word - Part 1 Rain Garden Proposal Lesson Plan
PDF Word - Part 1 Stormwater PowerPoint
PDF PPT - Part 1 Green Infrastructure and Rain Garden Function PowerPoint
PDF PPT - Part 2 Site Inventory and Base Map Creation Lesson Plan
PDF Word - Part 2 Rain Garden Design Process PowerPoint
PDF PPT - Part 3 Rain Garden Design and Planting Plan Lesson Plan
PDF Word - Part 3 Rendering Examples PowerPoint
PDF PPT - Part 4 Installation and Final Evaluation Lesson Plan
PDF Word
Student Handouts
- Part 1 Sustainable Cities Video
PDF Word - Part 2A Rain Garden Site Inventory
PDF Word - Part 2B Calculate Catchment Area Runoff and Determine Rain Garden Size
PDF Word - Part 2C Draft the Base Map and Garden Layout
PDF Word - Part 2 Calculate Slope
PDF Word - Part 3 Rain Garden Final Design Guidelines
PDF Word
Published September 2017, updated March 2019