Thanks to funding support from the Anthonian Association and the Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) of Louisville for this project, Americana Community Center is excited to announce the completion of our brand new rain garden, located next to our existing community garden. Construction began in early June of this summer and was completed in the end of July.

What is a rain garden?

Rain gardens help capture storm water runoff before it reaches the storm drains. Designed with shallow level bottoms, rain gardens soak up runoff and filter out pollutants. By diverting storm water into rain gardens from our roofs or driveways, we improve the health of our local waterways and create beautiful gardens which sustain biodiversity (Louisville MSD). 

Special Thanks

In addition to our funders, we would like to also like to recognize ACC staff member Will Pierzala (Garden Manager and Youth Program Staff) for his hard work and dedication to this project.

You can check out more pictures of the rain garden in action and its contruction in our Image Galleries.

Components of the Project:

• Native wildflowers increase the permeability of the soil

• Rocks act as an above ground screen to divert water away from the building and into the rain garden

• An 800 gallon water tank provides irrigation for both the rain garden and the community garden.

• A meter will be installed to record how much water is retained by the garden and not sent into the sewer

• Signs will be created to educate visitors about the rain garden

Who built the rain garden?

The best part of this project is that the garden was constructed by our very own teen landscaping crew, under the supervision of the garden manager, as a part of the “Cultivating our Future” initiative. This initiative works with refugee and immigrant youth, ages 14 and up, to develop job skills with a focus on community gardening and landscaping projects. Eight teenage youth worked on this project throughout the summer, coming from the countries of Bosnia, Congo, Haiti, Liberia and Somalia. All work crew members are regular participants of ACC Youth Programming.