Tried two ways to get my neighbors on board with a rain garden project

Honestly, I spent about six months trying to talk to people one by one about putting in a rain garden to help with street runoff. It was slow and a few folks just shut the door. Last fall, I switched it up and worked with the city to host a free workshop at our local library, with a real expert from the water department. We had maybe 25 people show up, and seeing the plans and the cost share program together made it click for them. The group setting let people ask questions and get excited as a block, not just feel like I was selling them something. We got five houses signed up right there, and three more called me after. It wasn't about me convincing anyone, it was about giving them the tools and a community push. Has anyone else found that a group approach works better for local projects like this?

3 comments

3 Comments

allen.amy3mo ago

Wow, our block party was the turning point for our composting effort too.

miles8253mo ago

Absolutely, @allen.amy, those shared events make a huge difference. We finally got a neighborhood bin after chatting with everyone at our summer cookout. It's way easier to keep it going when you have a few people to remind you. Did your block set up a shared drop off spot too?

the_derek19d ago

Yeah, "block party" really hits for me too. I mean, that's exactly where we got our whole system going. But here's something I've been wondering about your setup - do you guys have to deal with people accidentally tossing in stuff that shouldn't be there? Idk, maybe it's just where I live, but we had a few folks dropping in things like greasy pizza boxes and citrus peels that took forever to break down. How do you handle that kind of thing without making it awkward?