IMPROVING THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT: Each rain garden is a single step that we can take
“On the 'wet coast' of Canada, there is some irony in seeing so much rain and 
snow during the winter months to be followed by a few months later by water restrictions and low reservoirs. It does (or should) make one curious about how effective our practices in handling rain water are,” writes Jay Bradley in the Winter 2009 Quarterly Newsletter published by the Strategic Land Policy and Legislation Branch in the BC Ministry of Agriculture & Lands.
In the article, Jay Bradley describes how to construct a rain garden in high clay-soils to infiltrate rainwater runoff on-site. “We are creating features where our children can learn, and which will inevitably protect jobs and resources in the long term,” concludes Jay. “In the words of Lao-Tsu, 'A journey of a thousand miles begins a single step.' Each rain garden is a single step that we can take.”
To read the complete article by Jay Bradley, click on Rain Gardens.
About Jay Bradley
Jay Bradley is Chair of the Vancouver Island Coordinating Team (VICT) which comprises provincial ministries, local governments and First Nations. VICT is part of the water-centric coalition that comprises CAVI – Convening for Action on 
Vancouver Island.
While the mandate of CAVI is to look at all aspects of the Water Cycle, the specific focus of VICT is the rainwater management component, and in particular the relationship with green infrastructure. To learn more about Jay Bradley and his personal interest in rain gardens, click on Chair of Vancouver Island Coordinating Team reduces his 'hydrological footprint'.
Posted February 2009