REEP Green Home Seminars and Workshops

Our free workshops are held regularly at REEP House for Sustainable Living, 20 Mill Street, Kitchener and at other locations throughout Waterloo Region.

Permeable Paving, Cisterns and Pumps

Tuesday June 4, 7 pm to 8:30 pm
Kitchener Collegiate Institute,
787 King St W, Kitchener

The stormwater problem:
KCI has a football field where excess water drains into a grass ditch. Since grass has a limited capacity to soak up water, this excess water travels downhill toward a storm drain that flushes directly into the Grand River, adding pollutants and causing erosion.

The school wanted to beautify the property by planting trees and perennials near the football field - but they needed water. They also wanted to create a paved area for use as an outdoor classroom and meeting space – without adding to the runoff flowing into the storm drain.

The stormwater solution:
To solve their problems, KCI decided to build a permeable paving patio with a cistern below it to capture rainwater, providing free water to irrigate their new garden beds while helping to protect the Grand River.

Get your hands dirty while learning!
Join us at our free, hands-on workshop to get practical tips from KCI’s contractor about how to size, set up, and maintain permeable paving and an underground cistern on your own property - and to help complete KCI’s project!

Workshop includes:

• Introduction to the RAIN program
• Introduction to stormwater credits from the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo
• Local service providers and suppliers list
• Informational handouts about permeable paving and underground cisterns
• Tips about how to size, set up, maintain, and winterize permeable paving and underground cisterns
• A hands-on opportunity to complete the installation

Presented by: RAIN, a Green Communities Canada program delivered by REEP Green Solutions in partnership with the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo.

Workshop partners: Kitchener Collegiate Institute and TNT Property Maintenance.

Questions? Email RAIN Assistant Janet at jszydlowski@reepgreen.ca, or call her at 519-744-9799 x4.

Registration Required (space is limited)

 

Rain Garden Sizing, Construction and Care

Tuesday June 11, 7 pm to 8:30 pm
Kitchener Collegiate Institute,
787 King St W, Kitchener

The stormwater problem:
Water from KCI’s football field drains into a grass ditch. Grass has a limited capacity to soak up water, so runoff travels downhill toward a storm drain where it is flushed directly into the Grand River, adding pollutants and increasing erosion.

Instead of paying for potable water for their trees and gardens, the school decided to capture this runoff in an underground cistern. However, they still had a problem on their hands: what happens when the cistern is full?

The stormwater solution:
To prevent water from overflowing into the field’s storm drain, they are building a rain garden so it can soak into the ground.

The result? All the water that runs off the field will be captured and put to good use, which conserves potable water and helps protect the Grand River.

Get your hands dirty while learning!
Join us at our free, hands-on workshop to get practical information from KCI’s contractor about how to size, construct, and maintain a rain garden on your property - and help complete their rain garden!

Workshop includes:

• Introduction to the RAIN program
• Introduction to stormwater credits from the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo
• Local service providers and suppliers list
• Rain garden handout
• Tips on how to size, set up, maintain, and winterize a rain garden
• A hands-on opportunity to finish planting KCI’s rain garden

Presented by: RAIN, a Green Communities Canada program delivered by REEP Green Solutions in partnership with the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo.

Workshop partners: Kitchener Collegiate Institute and Thompson Environmental.

Questions? Email RAIN Assistant Janet at jszydlowski@reepgreen.ca, or call her at 519-744-9799 x4.

Registration Required (space is limited)

 

Harvest Rainwater and Build a Rain Garden

Wednesday June 19, 7 pm to 8:30 pm
The Church of St. John the Evangelist,
23 Water St N, Kitchener

The stormwater problem:
The Church of Saint John the Evangelist (St. John’s) was paying for thousands of litres of water every year to water their gardens. They also collected the rainwater from their roof and directed all of it to storm sewers.

Runoff that flows into storm drains ends up in our creeks, streams and rivers, adding pollutants and increasing erosion.

The stormwater solution:
Instead of directing rainwater to the storm sewer, St. John’s now collects it in a 1,150L cistern to water their gardens for free with the help of a solar-powered pump.

Overflow from their cistern is directed into a rain garden so that none of this water enters the storm sewers.

Get your hands dirty while learning!
Get practical information from St. John’s contractor about how to size, set up, maintain, and winterize these rainwater harvesting and rain garden systems - and help them finish their projects!

Workshop includes:

• Introduction to the RAIN program
• Introduction to stormwater credits from the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo
• Local service providers and suppliers list
• Rainwater harvesting and rain garden handouts
• Tips on how to size, construct, maintain, and winterize a rainwater harvesting system and rain garden
• A hands-on opportunity to complete the installation of the cistern and pump
• A hands-on opportunity to complete the rain garden plantings

Presented by: RAIN, a Green Communities Canada program delivered by REEP Green Solutions in partnership with the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo

Workshop partners: The Church of St. John the Evangelist and Thompson Environmental.

Questions? Email RAIN Assistant Janet at jszydlowski@reepgreen.ca, or call her at 519-744-9799 x4.

Registration Required (space is limited)