How & Why to Build a Rain Garden

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This program will occur online on Zoom.  Advance registration is required.  The link to register for this program will be available here soon. A recording of this program will also be available soon after the event.

Full Title: Easing Pollution and Flooding at Home: How and Why to Build a Rain Garden

Everyone contributes a little bit to water pollution and flooding, and everyone can be part of the solution. Home is a great place to start! Join us to learn how to plant a rain garden that will soak up stormwater and absorb the pollutants it carries while attracting birds and butterflies to your yard. We will talk about why rain gardens are an important addition to the suburban landscape and how to properly size, plant, and care for your rain garden. Then we will point you to local resources to get started.

Presenter Bio:

Rebecca Olson has focused her career on land and water conservation and restoration in Northern Illinois and beyond.  She is the owner and president of Olson Ecological Solutions, LLC, a woman-owned consulting company founded in 2006 and co-owner of A3E Olson Ecological Joint Venture, LLC founded in 2021.

Rebecca’s work protects, enhances, restores, and creates natural areas and encourages human interaction with nature in various ways. The projects that she develops and manages provide natural areas and stormwater filtration in rural and developed settings like river corridors, drainage systems, wetlands, parks and open spaces, and neighborhoods. These projects ensure many benefits to our communities, including open spaces for people to enjoy, habitat for wildlife, and areas to provide natural water filtration and prevent flooding. 

Rebecca volunteers to serve her community as a member of the Land Conservation Committee for the Natural Land Institute and the Land Advisory Council for the Forest Preserves of Winnebago County.

Rebecca received her Master of Science in wildlife biology from Colorado State University after attending Denison University for her Bachelor of Arts in biology and minor in chemistry. She moved to Rockford in 2000. She and her husband, Scott, have two children. When she is not mucking around in the wetlands, she enjoys spending time with her family and playing tennis, biking, cooking, and skiing.