Stormwater Management Collaboration at Carnation Farms

Spring has sprung at Salmon-Safe certified Carnation Farms and so have two new rain gardens! Over the past couple of months the Snoqualmie Stewardship Team has been planning, designing and installing two new rain gardens on the farm. They worked closely with Eric Popp, Carnation Farms Director of Regenerative Agriculture, to plan the location of the rain gardens. Eric even provided excavator training for the crew. These rain gardens will filter over 50,000 gallons of water a year and act as great demonstration gardens and talking points about stormwater management and the extra mile Carnation Farms is going to operate sustainably!

As a sustainable, Salmon-Safe certified farm our commitment to ensuring water quality runs deep. Because we recycle millions of gallons of water from our facilities each season, managing runoff is a daily concern for our agricultural operations. Rain gardens help us ensure we think about runoff holistically, beyond just what we use in our fields and facilities. Filtering water from our gutter systems through rain gardens ensures that we are mitigating our water quality impact on the greater environment surrounding the farm, ensuring the long term health of our ecosystem. 

Eric Popp, Carnation Farms Director of Regnerative Agriculture

Be sure to visit Carnation Farms for their annual plant sale and Spring Market May 1, 2, 8 & 9! While you’re there stop by the rain garden and talk to Geoff Bough. He’ll be there providing stormwater management education and talking about the rain gardens. Check out all their upcoming events here: https://events.carnationfarms.org/events/

The Rose Family Foundation and King County Flood District provided Flood Reduction Funds for these projects.