Protect your home against flooding while helping birds and butterflies with a RAIN garden! We teach you everything we know about rain gardens. That includes lessons learned from more than 1,400 rain gardens built by homeowners just like you! Learn what works and what doesn’t, ask questions in our live classes, and visit a real rain garden in person!
During class, you will…
• Design your own rain garden step-by-step
• Receive friendly encouragement each step of the way from course instructors, past graduates, and fellow students
• Become your neighborhood’s expert on rain gardens!
Earn your certification – including a t-shirt and sign – by attending all five classes, then building your own rain garden OR adopting a public rain garden. Partners across southeast Michigan are looking forward to having you for the 2025 Master Rain Gardener course!
*Do you live in the following communities? You could qualify for FREE registration to the winter Master Rain Gardener course funded by the EPA-Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grant: Protecting Lake Erie Marsh and Waters. Please email Jill Martin to see if you qualify and to get the registration link!
Qualifying Zip Codes: Detroit (48209, 48217), Ecorse (48229), Inkster (48141), Lincoln Park (48146), Melvindale (48122), River Rouge (48218), Riverview (48193), Romulus (48174), Taylor (48180)
WINTER 2025 COURSE DETAILS
Thank you for your interest in the Master Rain Gardener class. Registration has reached capacity and is now closed. If you are still interested in taking the course, the free, self-paced version can be found here.
TIME: 10 AM – Noon
DATES: Five Thursdays, January 30, February 6, 13, 20, and 27
LOCATION: VIRTUAL, with an in-person outdoor tour
COST: $89 Early Bird Rate before January 15th ($380 value; sliding scale scholarships available, minimum fee of $20)
$150 for applications received after January 15th
*see above if you may qualify for FREE registration!
TESTIMONIALS
I love this class! Every gardener should take it for background knowledge. The class is so well organized with visuals and field trips! Meeting more than my expectations.
-2018 trainee
I like everything about this class: the way it is taught, field trips, individual help, resources. Matthew and Ian are so knowledgeable.
-2018 trainee
SELF-PACED OPTION
Can’t make the live class fit into your schedule? Take the free self-paced version of the course instead! If you build a rain garden on your own after watching the recordings, contact Matt Connors about getting your certification.
PARTNERS
Partners from across southeast Michigan have come together to offer the largest ever Master Rain Gardener Training Course, with capacity for over one hundred students drawn from across all of southeast Michigan. Students will be paired with expert instructors from their region, enjoying both one-on-one support and the friendly support of a small peer group of no more then ten fellow students.
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