Rise of the Rain Garden

admin
, 13 May 2016
Rise of the Rain Garden
Creating a Rain Garden

By Huw Morgan

People and Wildlife Officer Brighton

Rain Gardens are on the rise, here in the Brighton & Lewes Downs Biosphere following the evolution of this pioneering concept in the US and Sussex Wildlife Trust Youth Ranger group in Brighton have been busy building the first examples in the city.

A “rain garden” is simply a low-lying area of ground containing plants tolerant of wetter conditions that is designed to receive and retain rainfall from surface water run-off from hard surfaces, and then slowly drains away over time to leave them without any open water for most of the year.

This natural way of helping to alleviate local flooding is a form of ‘green infrastructure’, that works in combination with the conventional grey infrastructure systems of drains, pipes and sewers.

Rain Gardens are a type of Sustainable Drainage System, or ‘SuDS’, that can be created both in existing green spaces and as new elements of urban development, to help to reduce flood risk from heavy rainfall events – an phenomenon that is increasing with climate change.

The great thing about Rain Gardens is that they not only hold back storm water and reduce flooding, but they can also help to filter pollution, attract wildlife to your neighbourhood and look colourful at the same time – making them multi-functional in nature. ‘

The idea of rain gardens since spread to various cities across the US, most notably Portland, Oregon, where the city’s chief landscape architect Tom Liptan championed the idea, initiated various trials and produced guidance that allowed citizens to get involved by creating rain gardens in their own gardens or on adjacent verges. Tom emphasized the importance of multi-functionality, with rain gardens being promoted as attractive landscape features in their own right, as well as being drainage features.

Now the rain garden concept has a foothold in the UK, with a few projects around Stroud, in South Wales, London and now in Portslade as part of the Brighton & Lewes Downs Biosphere programme of environmental improvements.

The idea of the two new rain garden pilot schemes now established at Lockshill (Portslade village green) and Victoria Recreation Ground is that surface water runoff is re-directed into small basins or ‘swales’ from which it can slowly infiltrate into the underlying chalk or evaporate or transpire through plants later. These features in Portslade have also presented an opportunity to create two new wildlife habitats, by planting local wild flowers in to the chalk banks and seeding the damper hollows with wetland plants.

Although these new rain garden pilots are relatively small-scale, we hope that they will be the forerunners of many similar schemes in the Biosphere in the future, to help to reduce flood risk whilst bringing more nature to town. Such natural benefits are vital to sustain our urban quality of life and help cope with the effects of climate change.

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782396361.51050 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1782396361.54070.0301Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782396361.5410.0003Server address: 216.73.217.95
1782396361.5410.0001Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782396361.5410Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/rise-of-the-rain-garden
    [s] => rise-of-the-rain-garden
    [1] => rise-of-the-rain-garden
)
1782396361.54140.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782396361.54270.0013 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782396361.54490.0022 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782396361.54610.0012INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782396361.5480.0019 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22271662
1782396361.5490.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22271662
1782396361.54990.0009 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-25 14:06:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-25 14:06:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782396361.55180.0019 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='rise-of-the-rain-garden')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-25 14:06:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782396361.5550.0033 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782396361.55590.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1123 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-25 14:06:00'
1782396361.5570.0011 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782396361.55810.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782396361.55920.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=62 LIMIT 1
1782396361.55990.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=129 LIMIT 1
1782396361.56040.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=66 LIMIT 1
1782396361.56110.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782396361.56140.0003 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782396361.56250.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-25 14:06:00' AND postSlug='rise-of-the-rain-garden'
1782396361.58370.0213Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782396361.58450.0007 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782396361.58680.0023Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782396361.58710.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782396361.58810.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1782396361.58940.0013 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782396361.59250.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782396361.59330.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782396361.59570.0024Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782396361.59570.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782396361.59660.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782396361.59720.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782396361.60010.0029 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782396361.60130.0012 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782396361.60220.0009 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782396361.60470.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782396361.60620.0015 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782396361.60840.0023 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782396361.6090.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782396361.60930.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782396361.61030.0011Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782396361.61090.0006 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='rise-of-the-rain-garden')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-25 14:06:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782396361.61310.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782396361.61410.001 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782396361.61750.0033Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782396361.61880.0014 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1123 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782396361.66920.0503 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782396361.66940.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782396361.66960.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1782396361.67040.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782396361.67120.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782396361.6720.0009 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782396361.67480.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782396361.67550.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782396361.67780.0022 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782396361.67920.0015 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782396361.68010.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782396361.68090.0008 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782396361.68380.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782396361.68460.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782396361.68750.003 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782396361.69080.0033 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782396361.69190.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782396361.69270.0008 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782396361.69550.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782396361.69640.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782396361.69890.0025 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782396361.70160.0027 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782396361.70250.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782396361.70330.0008 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782396361.70610.0028 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782396361.70720.0011 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782396361.70940.0023 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782396361.71110.0017Request time: 0.2044
1782396361.71120Process time: 0.2043
1782396361.71120Memory: 1.6265