Rain Garden
Welcome to the North Glenora Rain Garden!
Construction of the North Glenora Community Rain Garden started on June 5, 2023. Dozens of volunteers came together the weekend of July 8, 2023 to plant the gardens under the guidance of the Alberta Low Impact Development Partnership.
For the first 2-3 years, the garden will require quite a bit of weeding but after this establishment phase, the site will be beautifully wild, home to many pollinators, and will be low maintenance – all while diverting and filtering stormwater from the city’s stormwater system. Diverting stormwater is essential for protecting our watersheds. See Alberta Low Impact Development Partnership and Resilient Landscaping for more information.
We still need more Rain Garden Volunteers! If you’re interested in helping out during the important establishment phase of the garden, please contact [email protected]
What is a Rain Garden?
A rain garden is a collection of plants, soil, and rock that mimic systems in nature to collect and filter rainwater that would otherwise run into stormwater systems.
The North Glenora Rain Garden will be a beautiful meeting place for residents to enjoy while it demonstrates the use of alternative landscaping to divert and harness rainwater. The garden will consist of two rain garden basin areas that will capture and filter water from the community’s rink shack roof. These gardens will feature a variety of native plants that are naturally adapted to both wet and dry conditions. These plants can effectively filter pollutants from stormwater, are beautiful, and provide habitat for important pollinators. The rest of the area will be planted with alternative landscaping plants to demonstrate to residents how they can replace conventional turf in their own yards with a variety of plants that utilize water more efficiently and require less maintenance overall.
Current Update:
If you haven’t visited our rain garden lately, now is the perfect time to stop by. Tucked beside the rink shack, the North Glenora Rain Garden is a rotating gallery of native blooms that changes week by week as different plants take their turn in the spotlight.
And it’s not just beautiful. It’s working.
With the heavy rainfall our city has seen in summer of 2026, Edmonton’s stormwater system has been pushed to capacity. Our rain garden has been quietly doing its part right here at home, capturing runoff directly from the rink shack roof, slowing it down, and letting it soak back into the ground rather than overwhelming our drains.
We’d love for you to come see it in action. On most Sunday afternoons from 4 to 5:30 pm, May through September, you’ll find some of our volunteers out at the garden. Come say hello and learn about the native plants growing there, many of which you can grow in your own yard.
So next time the rain lets up, take a stroll over to the rink shack and give our rain garden a little love!
Contact [email protected] to become a Rain Garden Steward!
Project Timeline
Click on the dates below to see details of the timeline.
Construction – Landscaper Led
- Construct, with the help of a professional landscaper, the majority of the construction of the North Glenora Community Resilient Landscaping
- Demonstration Garden. Obtain and plant ornamental plant stock and sod-based products.
Construction – Community Led
- Led by community volunteers, install native plant plugs.
- Connect with Coronation Elementary School to allow the students to be involved at this stage.
Community Orientation
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- Invite community members to an orientation session to find volunteers to become stewards of the site.
Signage
- Design and install interpretive signage at the site to inform and educate visitors about the plants and techniques being showcased on the project.
Establish and Maintenance Sessions
- Provide expert oversight for six maintenance sessions over the first two seasons with community volunteers to facilitate both weed and plant identification, weeding techniques, and general gardening know-how.
Open Houses
- Host a site tour each year and open the invitation to the community of North Glenora and to other communities as well
Design and Construction Workshops
- Design and hold a workshop online through the Edmonton Horticultural Society, increasing the likelihood of more residents establishing their own rain gardens.
- Hold a workshop through the Alberta Horticultural Association, to provide more in-depth information, geared to landscape professionals.
Sponsors and Acknowledgements
