A Community Grown Rain Garden

This year, a stormwater project is taking place at Christ the King Church in New Brighton. Just outside the church’s front parking lot, a large 2 basin rain garden was installed to capture, slow, and infiltrate stormwater from the lot before it enters the storm drain system and flows toward Long Lake.

What makes this project stand out isn’t just its size or impact, but the involvement of the church community and local partners in both its creation and long-term care. From the beginning, Christ the King has shown leadership in environmental stewardship by replacing turf grass with native plants across their campus. Now, with support from the Rice Creek Watershed District (RCWD), they’re expanding their efforts with this large-scale stormwater solution.

This rain garden isn’t being planted by a contractor, it’s being planted by the community. RCWD and Growing Green Hearts are coordinating a major community planting event where church members, local students from nearby schools, and neighbors will help install hundreds of native plants. These plants will help slow down and soak up stormwater, provide habitat for pollinators, and beautify the church grounds.

Earlier this year, Growing Green Hearts led educational workshops with the church to teach participants about native plants and water stewardship. Church members started growing native plants from seed, learning firsthand how these plants support healthy soil, pollinators, and clean water. These plants will now find a home in the new rain garden and other areas across the campus.

In total, the rain garden will treat over 26,000 square feet of runoff, most of it from hard surfaces like parking lot and compacted turf, helping reduce sediment and nutrient pollution before it enters the watershed. The project includes sump structures to slow and capture sediment before it flows through the garden. An educational sign, designed by RCWD, will be installed near the sidewalk and parking lot to share the story of this project with people walking by.

Partners on this project include RCWD, Ramsey Soil and Water Conservation District, and Christ the King Church.

This project is a great example of what happens when education, stewardship, and infrastructure come together. Christ the King Church will continue working with RCWD to care for the rain gardens and serve as an example of faith based environmental action.