..:: Learning Stream ::..

Program

Creek Week Rain Garden Workshop

with Mitch Woodward, Watersheds and Water Quality Specialized Agent, NC Cooperative Extension; Allison Weakley, Stormwater Analyst, Town of Chapel Hill

This event is full. Now accepting wait list registrations.

Date: Saturday, March 25, 2023 (Inclement weather date: Saturday, April 1)

Time: 9:00 AM-12:00 PM

Fee: $39 ($35 Members)

The North Carolina Botanical Garden, the Town of Chapel Hill, and the N.C. Cooperative Extension invite you to participate in a rain garden workshop hosted at the Carolina Community Garden (CCG). The workshop will be led by stormwater expert Mitch Woodward. It will cover all aspects of rain garden design, plant selection, and care, and will provide participants hands-on experience in rain garden installation on-site at the CCG. As a part of Orange County Creek Week, participants will learn how to create beautiful rain gardens as an option for dealing with stormwater in residential properties and communities. Additionally, Allison Weakley, a Town of Chapel Hill stormwater analyst and botanist, will be present to answer participants' questions regarding choosing native plants for your own rain garden.

What to bring: Close-toed shoes, water bottle, and a folding chair

We will provide: Gardening tools, gloves, and water

Parking information will be provided upon registration.

Remaining Seats: 0

Registration open through 3/24/2023 2:00 PM EST

About the Instructor

Mitch has worked in the water quality protection field for over 38 years in North Carolina, Chesapeake Bay, and Mississippi River watersheds. He has been an Area Specialized Agent – Watersheds and Water quality for North Carolina Cooperative Extension for the past 26 years, delivering 20-25 educational workshops annually on low impact development, urban stormwater control practices, and water quality protection. Mitch has assisted Cooperative Extension’s local town, city, county and state partners in installing over 300 urban stormwater control systems in NC, GA, SC, OR, TN, KY and AL including innovative rainwater harvesting, bioretention, streambank repair, and residential rain garden design and installation.

Mitch is the eighth generation of his family to farm, growing up on a 500 acre family dairy farm in Middletown, Delaware. He holds a BS degree in Entomology and Plant Pathology from the University of Delaware and a MS degree in Agronomy Soils from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Allison joined the Town of Chapel Hill as a Stormwater Analyst in 2016, where she oversees the water quality program and helps manage the Town’s state stormwater permit. She received a bachelor's degree in plant biology from University of Maryland, a master's in biology from UNC-CH, and has worked as a botanist/ecologist for most of her 25-year career where she’s held positions at the US National Arboretum, NC Botanical Garden, Nantahala National Forest (US Forest Service), and NC Natural Heritage Program. She also co-taught Assessment & Identification of Riparian Vegetation for seven years through NC State University’s Stream Restoration program.