Eric Wood gave a very interesting talk on a topic that is becoming more and more popular as storm water management becomes a more important issue. The idea of a rain garden is to slow down the water enough to drop the impurities and debris in it so that water entering streams and waterways is cleaner.
A rain garden is not a water garden or a bog garden. It is designed for water retention for a short period of time (24 hours) so the water has a chance to percolate into the soil leaving impurities along the way and allowing cleaner water to drain out on the lower end. Sustainable rain gardens are designed to be wet today and 100% dry tomorrow.

Rob Ladner, NE Kansas Regional Law Enforcement Supt. for Kansas Dept. Wildlife & Parks gave a very interesting and entertaining program at the August TAWGS meeting. A man with a great sense of humor, Rob told many interesting stories about incidents he had encountered as a law enforcement officer for the KDWP.

Rob opened his talk with a big thank you to TAWGS members for building a water garden at the front door of the KDWP office at 300 SW Wanamaker a few years ago. He said that employees and visitors all enjoy it and they get many compliments on it.