Roger Bannerman
Water Resources Management Specialist
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources

Mr. Bannerman introduced the audience to the rain garden concept, emphasizing the important role rain gardens play in stormwater management and pollution control. From his extensive collection of case studies, Mr. Bannerman described successful (and not-so-successful) projects – both large and small – from across the country.

Click here to download Mr. Bannerman's presentation.

More about Mr. Bannerman
Mr. Bannerman has over 25 years experience working on stormwater management issues for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. He is author of the popular guidebook Rain Gardens: A How-To Manual and played a key role in developing the WI-DNR's excellent rain garden web page. (His rain garden manual can be downloaded for free from the web page.) Mr. Bannerman has served as a technical advisor to numerous residential and municipal landscaping projects designed to improve stormwater management. He has also directed research projects investigating polluted runoff and applied the results of the studies to urban watershed management plans across Wisconsin.

Jacob Blue
Landscape Architect
Applied Ecological Services

Mr. Blue provided seminar participants with practical information on how to install a rain garden of their own. He also shared many insights from his work in the field and encouraged the audience to plan carefully and think creatively.

Mr. Blue's presentation is available on Applied Ecological Service's rain garden web page .

More about Mr. Blue
Mr. Blue holds a degree in Ecology and has many years of hands-on experience designing and installing rain gardens and other environmentally friendly features on municipal, corporate, and private properties. Applied Ecological Services is a consulting firm with a strong conservation ethic and is affiliated with Taylor Creek, Spring Lake, and Kaw River Nurseries, which specialize in native plants.

Nick Spittlemeister of the Lake Co. Soil and Water Conservation District talked briefly about the District's rain barrel sale. The rain barrels are constructed from plastic barrels that were originally used to ship peppers to the U.S. from Greece. Mr. Spittlemeister brought a sample rain barrel for the audience to examine.

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Nan Buckardt, Environmental Education Manager for the Lake Co. Forest Preserves, led a tour of the rain gardens, bioswales, and permeable asphalt parking lot located on the Ryerson Woods Welcome Center property.

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