ALIDP Community Hub Program Launches to Demonstrate Resilient Landscaping Practices

Posted on Sep 30, 2019 in Stewardship, Native Plants, Homeowner Action, Volunteers

Expressions of Interest are now being accepted from community groups in Calgary and Edmonton to construct education and demonstration gardens at public gathering spots featuring native plants, alternatives to conventional turf, and rain gardens. With funding from Alberta Environment and Parks' Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program, the hub program seeks to inspire and educate homeowners about better landscaping choices for a resilient future - whether that future is colder or warmer, wetter or drier. 

Elements of the program include native perennials and shrubs, ornamental grasses, groundcovers, and grasses that are lower-maintenance, more drought-tolerant, and less reliant on chemicals than conventional lawns. Rain gardens, those planting beds with shallow depressions to hold runoff during a storm, are a big part of the program as well, for their ability to mitigate flooding while at the same time extending the planting palette to choices beyond the regular xeriscape offering.

Celebrating native plants, the program also aims to help homeowners become familiar with some fabulous choices that will boost biodiversity and help out our pollinators.

Read more about the program and apply at https://www.alidp.org/initiatives/citizens/hubs.

Watch our rain garden explainer video:

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