Rethink Runoff Stream Team

Just in time for the evening showers! 🌧️

Stream Team Coordinator Lucas Goldfluss joined local volunteers at Bombardier Park in Milton today to install a new rain garden.

Rain gardens like this help reduce runoff, improve water quality, create valuable habitat for pollinators and other wildlife, and add natural beauty to community spaces. 🌱

Thanks to everyone's hard work and dedication!

Have you ever wondered what makes a rain garden different from a regular garden?

While they may look similar at first glance, rain gardens are specially designed to capture, filter, and absorb stormwater runoff, helping to protect local waterways while creating a beautiful habitat for plants and pollinators.

Take a closer look as we explore the key parts of a rain garden and how each one works together to manage stormwater naturally:

1. Entrance:
The entrance prevents sediments from clogging the rain garden and filters them uphill. Occasional maintenance includes removing trash, sediments, and debris to protect the entrance from erosion.

2. Wood Chips or Ground Cover:
Wood chips or ground cover protect the soil surface from erosion, retain moisture for plants, suppress weeds, and help slow stormwater as it moves through the rain garden.

3. Filter Bed:
The filter bed is a layer of sandy soil mix that helps store and filter stormwater. Filter beds are beneficial, and often necessary, where existing soil drains poorly.

4. Temporary Ponding:
A rain garden is designed to temporarily hold up to six inches of stormwater during rain events. This shallow ponding area slows runoff, allows water to soak into the soil, and helps reduce flooding and erosion downstream.

5. Outflow:
The outflow is the designated area where excess water overflows. The height of the outflow determines the depth of ponding. You can protect the outflow from erosion with a more rigid material, such as rock.

Last week, employees from Ben & Jerry's joined the Rethink Runoff team in Winooski for a river cleanup, helping remove litter and debris from the Winooski River.

Small actions can make a big difference—each bag of trash collected helps reduce pollution and supports a cleaner Winooski River. We're grateful to the Ben & Jerry's team for donating their time and energy to help care for our local waterways.

Thank you to everyone who helped!

Spring is here — and so is gardening season! 🌱🌧️

The BTV Blue program offers FREE stormwater evaluations for homeowners, plus the opportunity to receive up to $1,500 toward a rain garden project. Help protect our waterways while creating a beautiful landscape at home.

Learn more about the program and sign up for an evaluation!

Small Gardens, Big Impact: Rain Gardens Help Protect Burlington’s Waterways – Lake Champlain Sea Grant Homeowners in Burlington have been building special gardens to capture and filter stormwater. Rain gardens are not your average garden; they are designed basins planted with native vegetation that offer a multitude of benefits. Rain gardens act as “temporary bathtubs”, holding rainwat...

A good groundcover for shady spaces, Eastern Waterleaf spreads to form low patches of soft green foliage with small white to pale lavender flowers in spring.

🌧️ Its spreading growth helps cover bare soil and reduce erosion, particularly in woodland areas or shaded rain gardens.

☁️ Eastern Waterleaf thrives in partial to full shade and consistently moist soils. It is not salt-tolerant, so avoid planting it near roads or sidewalks.

Often found in moist, shaded areas, Gray Sedge is a native, grass-like plant that grows 2 to 3 feet tall.

☔ Its dense, clumping root system helps stabilize soil and reduce erosion, especially in areas where water tends to move through or collect.

☁️ Gray Sedge prefers partial shade and moist soils and is moderately salt-tolerant, making it a good option near driveways or walkways.

Learn more about rain gardens and rain garden plants at https://rethinkrunoff.org/what-you-can-do/plant-a-rain-garden/

Big thanks to everyone who came out for Green Up Day at Five Corners in Essex Junction with The Stream Team! 🌎💚

Neighbors showed up, pitched in, and helped clean up our community together. Every piece of trash picked up adds up, and we made a real impact.

We’re so grateful for everyone who grabbed a bag, put in the work, and helped make our little corner cleaner and brighter. Can’t wait until next year!

Join Lucas Goldfluss and the Rethink Runoff Stream Team this Saturday, May 2nd from 10am–2pm for Green Up Day at Five Corners in Essex Junction!

Green Up Day is a Vermont tradition dedicated to keeping our communities clean and our waterways healthy. Stop by, lend a hand picking up litter, and learn how reducing runoff pollution helps protect our local streams and Lake Champlain.

Bring gloves if you have them, and come be part of a statewide effort to make a visible difference!

📍 Five Corners, Essex Junction�
🕙 May 2nd, 10am–2pm�
🌱 Let’s green up Vermont together!

With yellow blooms appearing before the leaves, Spicebush is an early sign of spring in many Vermont landscapes.

🐦 This native shrub supports birds and pollinators while its roots help stabilize soil in moist areas.

☁️ Spicebush grows 6 to 12 feet tall and prefers partial shade and moist soils. It is not salt-tolerant, so plant away from areas treated with road salt.

In spring, Bridalwreath Spiraea is covered in arching clusters of small white flowers that brighten garden edges.

🌧️ Its root system helps hold soil in place, making it useful for stabilizing slopes and drier rain garden edges.

☀️ This shrub grows 4 to 7 feet tall and prefers full sun. It is moderately salt-tolerant and can be planted near driveways or walkways.

Download our free list of rain garden plants at https://rethinkrunoff.org/