PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Extension Office will offer a two-day workshop teaching how to install rain gardens later this month.
The workshop, which costs $30, will be Nov. 18-19 in Port Angeles.
It is open to landscape designers, installers, maintenance technicians and community members who want to learn more about rain gardens and other low-impact development practices.
The fee for the workshop includes snacks and refreshments and a copy of a rain garden handbook.
The workshop will be taught by Erica Guttman, a Washington State University educator with experience in rain garden design, installation and maintenance, and the author of several related publications and videos.
The first day of training will be in the North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center at 905 W. Ninth St.
It will focus on rain garden site selection, design, soils and compost, plant design and selection, costs, maintenance and new regulations.
The second day of the workshop will involve installing a rain garden at a home in Port Angeles.
On the Olympic Peninsula, demand for properly installed rain gardens is growing, creating a new niche and business opportunity for those with adequate training, said Lorrie Hamilton, Clallam County Master Gardener coordinator, in a news release.
The city of Port Angeles offers a $750 rebate to homeowners for installing a rain garden that meets city specifications, she said.
Attendees with landscape or construction businesses will be listed on both WSU Extension and www.12000raingardens.org websites as resources for local landowners for their rain garden needs, Hamilton added.
To register, contact the Clallam County Extension Office at 360-565-2679 or email the Master Gardener program coordinator at lhamilton@co.clallam.wa.us.
