The latest rain garden to be built in Cook County is also the largest. It can be seen on the Cook County Community Center grounds north of the hockey rink. Cook County Soil and Water Conservation District staff, members of the Minnesota Conservation Corps, and Cook County Master Gardeners worked diligently to clear and plant native plants.
Seven hundred fifty perennials, 35 shrubs and six trees native to this region are featured in a rain garden currently under construction north of the Cook County Community Center’s hockey rink in Grand Marais. The center’s Rain Garden Committee is working with the county’s Soil and
Water Conservation District staff and the Minnesota Conservation Corps to construct and plant the 50-foot-by-40- foot rain garden. The project is the latest and largest in a varied series of rain gardens in Grand Marais, in which native plants are chosen for their deep roots that draw water down into the ground and pull nutrients up.
Like the others, the new rain garden will collect and retain rain and runoff from its surrounding area long enough for it to filter down into the soil to improve water quality. At the same time, the water retention will reduce the movement of sediment, nutrients and pollutants into Lake Superior.
By avoiding the direct discharge of polluted runoff water into Lake Superior, the rain garden also will reduce erosion and flooding in the vicinity during torrential rains.
Above: Volunteer Duane Hasegowa heads to the wheelbarrow to do a bit more hauling. Left: Minnesota Conservation Corps workers muscle a boulder into place. MCC workers on the project were Derek Smith and Jake Vogel of Grand Marais; Roxanne Gonzalez of Schroeder; and Charlie Bronstein of Lutsen.
All of the plants in the rain garden are neonicotinoid-free and friendly to pollinators such as bees, butterflies, fireflies and other beneficial insects for whom it is intended to be a safe habitat. It is expected that birds and small wildlife will also find the rain garden to be a good place to live, find food and raise young.
Other features of the completed project include walking and maintenance paths as well as bridges and boardwalks made from repurposed lumber donated by local people.
There also will be a viewing bench for visitors to sit and enjoy the flora and fauna of the rain garden.
Much of the work is being done by the youth workers from the Minnesota Conservation Corps.
The original design for this large rain garden is a collaborative plan produced by a rain garden class taught by Cook County Extension Director Diane Booth. Members of the class formed the committee tasked with carrying out the design with a funding grant from the Soil and Water Conservation District.
This “park-like” rain garden can serve as an educational tool for county residents and visitors who want to learn more about rain gardens, Minnesota native plants, pollinators and North Shore ecosystems.
Anyone interested in learning more about rain gardens or who want to help make this garden a success can contact Diane Booth at 387-3015, Kerrie Berg or Elise Kyllo at the Soil and Water Conservation District at 387-3647, Maxene Linehan at 475- 2726, or any of the Cook County Master Gardeners.
Rain garden by the numbers
750 perennials
35 shrubs . 6 trees
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