Rain Gardens

Rain gardens are small, shallow, sunken areas of plantings that collect stormwater runoff from roofs, streets, and sidewalks. Also known as bioretention cells, they are designed to mimic the natural ways water flows over and absorbs into land to reduce stormwater pollution.

Fletcher Hall Rain Garden

The Fletcher Hall Rain Garden is an Iris planting in a sunken area next to the northern outdoor stairs. This area saw frequent flooding of the sidewalks with rain events which made this location a great choice for a green infrastructure intervention. 

Union Rain Gardens

The Union Entry Rain Gardens are sunken planting areas filled native beautyberries, which are also fantastic pollinator plants. The rain gardens are to the left and right side of the main central entrance to the Student Union coming from McKinley St.

The Student Union is also our University's first Leed Certified Building on Campus. It is was ranked as a Leed Silver building in 2015 when the Student Union was built.