Backyard Conservation

The Backyard Conservation Program shows us yard and garden practices that can beautify our surroundings while saving time and money and protecting our river and streams. This educational program includes opportunities for: conserving water; earth-friendly lawn care; using native plants; improving habitat for birds and butterflies; and reducing fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants that get into storm water run off; with the end goal of protecting and improving water quality in the Olentangy River watershed, the place where we live.

Go to the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Habitat Program for information about things you can do to attract native wildlife to your yard.

Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed Rain Barrel Cost Share Program 2008

This rain barrel was created from reused materials by Rain Brothers, a local Central Ohio company.

Would you like to save money on your outdoor watering costs? Would you like to help protect the Olentangy River? You can do both by purchasing and installing a rain barrel through FLOW’s cost share program.

Here’s how it works:

• You sign up to attend one of our rain barrel workshops to learn more about the hows and whys of rain barrels.
• The workshop includes a professional demonstration of a rain barrel installation.
• You place an order through FLOW for $30. This represents a savings of approximately $50 over the retail cost. We also cover the cost of shipping.
• The rain barrel will be shipped to your home, and you can install it yourself or contact a professional installer.
• You can use the water collected in the rain barrel for your outdoor watering needs, helping to reduce stormwater runoff into the Olentangy and its tributaries.
• To receive the cost share, you must attend one of our rain barrel workshops.
• The program is limited to one rain barrel per household (though we are happy to assist you in ordering a second rain barrel at the regular cost).

All Rain Barrel workshops are currently full. Please e-mail FLOW to get on a wait list. We are currently seeking additional funding to add more workshops.

Dates for 2008
April 19, 2-4 PM -- full
May 13, 6:30-8:30 PM -- full
June 18, 6:30-8:30 PM -- full
July 17, 6:30-8:30 PM -- full
August 16, 2-4 PM -- full

The cost share program is made possible by the City of Columbus, Department of Public Utilities’ Community Watershed Stewardship Project.

Rain Barrels:
rainbrothers.com