The RNS Program undertook the Rainy Day Solutions Project to examine the biodiversity values of rain gardens, looking at plant ecology and garden design from the perspective of plant associations. The project was funded by the Real Estate Foundation of BC, Mitacs and the City of Victoria. This was part of a larger study in three parts – hydrology, contaminants and biodiversity. The Civil Engineering Program at the University of Victoria is investigating water flows and the Chemistry Department will be looking at contaminants. The City of Victoria will also be examining their rain gardens from the perspective of hydrology and chemical contaminants. The Rainy Day Solutions project conducted by the RNS Program compared rain gardens as they were designed to as-built to what has survived at the sites years later. The work was conducted by a combination of both student coursework for credit, graduate student research and paid student time. One new rain garden was also created as part of the study at Oak and Orca Bioregional School in Victoria. The reports are available from the “Rain Gardens” tab on this website.
Leave a Reply