Niles Community Rain Garden

The Village of Niles, Illinois and the Coca-Cola Corporation sought to transform a neglected parcel of public property, to create an appealing park site that would serve to educate public officials and area residents by demonstrating the theory of using rain gardens to retain and cleanse storm water runoff.

HR Green inventoried the site, designed a Rain Garden Master Plan, prioritized project phasing, and provided field administration during construction for this project. Working with Village Staff and Coca-Cola, HR Green implemented and constructed Phase One and Phase Two of the project with volunteer help. Future phases include porous pavers and educational signage. HR Green’s design directed runoff from roofs and adjacent impervious surfaces into the garden to be cleansed and infiltrate into the ground recharging the aquifer. Native plant material was utilized to demonstrate the importance of using drought tolerant material.