Home gardeners learn to tame stormwater at East Portland workshop

Discover what participants learned how, starting at home, they can improve the health of local waterways …

Inside this East Portland garden store, neighbors are being shown how to properly treat stormwater on their property.

Story and photos by David F. Ashton

Ironically, an epic thunder-and-hail storm predicted for Wednesday afternoon, March 26, kept away many of those who’d signed up for a workshop entitled “Intro to Stormwater: Solutions for Healthy Waterways”.

Welcoming guests to the workshop is Cat Ayala, the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District’s Urban Land Education Outreach Coordinator.

Dire weather forecast notwithstanding, the day’s speaker — as well as the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District (EMSWCD) event organizer, Cat Ayala – were ready for those who braved the weather (which turned out to be a light spring shower), and ventured out to the SymbiOp Garden Shop for this free seminar.

“We start off with an introduction to the sources and effects of urban stormwater pollution,” landscape designer Lora Price, of Design with Nature, told East Portland News. “Then, we’ll explore a variety of actions people can take to help slow the flow of rainwater on their property, and help improve the environment.”

Workshop speaker Lora Price begins her presentation.

Some suggestions property owners can implement to mitigate stormwater are:

+ Identify where rain is flowing on your property, and redirect it to where it can soak in
the ground to prevent erosion, soil compaction, and pollution.
+ Create “rain gardens” with plants that naturally clean and purify stormwater.
+ “De-pave” hard surfaces, to allow stormwater to soak into the ground.
+ Keep the ground covered with mulch.

“All this adds up to a major part of keeping pollutants and chemicals out of our waterways,” Price said. “Even in urban settings, the impact doing such simple things has a real positive impact on our groundwater and waterways!”

“Every property owner can help improve our groundwater and waterways by paying attention to stormwater,” says landscape designer Lora Price.

To learn more about Lora Price, and Design with Nature, see their website: CLICK HERE.

And, to discover all of the knowledge provided by the East Multnomah Soil & Water Conservation District – most of it online – see their official website: CLICK HERE.

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