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Red Rock Rain Garden

Visitors stopping by this busy Coconino National Forest ranger station learn about arid-climate gardening with native plants and rainwater harvesting.

Sedona, Arizona

Skywater’s Strategy

The United States Forest Service wanted to create a demonstration garden of plant species and biotic communities native to the Sedona area as part of environmental educational services for this high-traffic Coconino National Forest district ranger station. To construct the native-plant rain garden, we directed run-off from surrounding hardscape into a series of terraces and basins which fill during storms. The basins filter out pollutants and feed a slower, more-steady supply of nutrient-rich rainwater to the plants. A large rainwater storage tank captures and holds rain collected and filtered from the roof. Stored water is pressurized and fed to the drip system to water plants during dry periods, primarily during new-plant establishment and times of drought. The system and garden were installed with the help of National Forest staff and volunteers.

Specifications

Project: Red Rock Ranger District Visitor Center, Coconino National Forest

Designer: Barnabas Kane for Skywater and T. Barnabas Kane & Assoc.

Installer: Skywater Rainwater Collection Systems, volunteers

Roof: 1,450 sq. ft., asphalt shingle

Hardscape: 1,500 sq. ft. concrete plaza

Pre-filtration: Rain Harvesting PVC downspout filter and First Flush Diverter; landscape basins and soil

Tank: 1,320 gal. round poly tank

Pump: 0.5 HP Submersible pump

 

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