Thinking Outside the Rain Barrel

Join the Lake-to-Prairie Chapter of Wild Ones on May 26, 7:15 - 8:45 pm at the Grayslake Area Public Library (100 Library Lane, Grayslake, IL 60030) to learn how you can make your very own rain barrel.

You know what they are, but should you have one? The resounding answer is YES, so let me tell you why.

•         Using a rain barrel can save you a significant amount of $$ money. For each inch of rain that falls on 500 square feet of roof, you can collect 300 gallons of water. That means you can collect more than a thousand gallons of FREE water a year to water your plants, garden, lawn, or even wash your car.

•         Rain water is soft, free of minerals, oxygenated, and un-chlorinated thus making it the absolute best water for your gardens, and it's always at ambient temperature so there's no shock to your plants.

•         Catching rain water enables you to control moisture levels around the foundation of your home, control erosion, and to direct overflow to where you want. It also protects our rivers, lakes, and streams from runoff pollution by keeping water out of the storm and combined sewer systems.

•         Rain water is FREE and easy. You can conserve water in the summer months, when demand is the highest, and reduce both your water and wastewater bills. You can easily use your new resource via a watering can, soaker hose, sprinkler system. etc.

Lake-to-Prairie Wild Ones is a chapter of Wild Ones, a national not-for-profit organization that promotes the use of native plants in landscaping. For more information about Wild Ones or to join, check out our web site http://www.wildones.org/chapters/lake2prairie/ or contact Rick Sanders (847-940-9482).