Leadership Class, Clemson expert present rain garden workshop, March 20

This rendering of the Honey Horn rain garden was prepared by Ocean Woods Landscaping.

The Leadership Hilton Head-Bluffton Class of 2010 will present rain garden expert David Joyner for a free workshop on planting rain gardens, at 10 a.m., Saturday, March 20, at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn Plantation on Hilton Head Island. Joyner, of the Clemson University Extension System, and the Leadership Class will plant a rain garden on site at the Coastal Discovery Museum and attendees can learn how to plant their own rain gardens. Ocean Woods Landscaping, Hilton Head Public Service District (PSD), and LowCountry Rain Barrel have teamed up to sponsor the rain garden planting.

The Leadership Class is building rain gardens on Hilton Head Island and in Bluffton as part of its class project, Rain Gardens: A Beautiful Solution to Water Pollution. Rain gardens are landscaped depressions, channels, or stormwater runoff containment areas that filter pollutants from stormwater.

The Leadership Class is interested in partnering with residents and local businesses and organizations to foster the proliferation of rain gardens in our community. If you or your group is interested in creating a rain garden or sponsoring a rain garden event in our area, please contact Leadership Class member Pete Nardi at (843) 681-0525 or email leadershipclass2010@yahoo.com.

The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce began its Leadership program in 1985. Its mission is to cultivate leadership resources within the community by giving participants the opportunity to study and experience the Hilton Head Island, Bluffton, Okatie and Daufuskie Island communities—their history, government, economy, human services and culture.