Green Impact Zone will host rain garden workshop and demonstration, Saturday, May 1, at 48th & Volker Blvd.

The Green Impact Zone, in partnership with Keep Kansas City Beautiful, Bridging The Gap, Mid-America Regional Council, Michael Ashley & Associates, and the Troostwood Neighborhood Association, will hold its first rain garden installation in the zone on Saturday, May 1, in Troostwood Commons, 4801 Volker Blvd., Kansas City, Mo., 64110.

Rain gardens not only beautify the neighborhood; they also help absorb stormwater runoff. After a heavy rain, stormwater that isn't absorbed into the ground can damage foundations and sidewalks. And as stormwater rushes down streets, it picks up oil, pesticides and other contaminants that end up in our rivers and streams.

The event on Saturday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is open to anyone interested. Green Impact Zone staff will collaborate with volunteers to learn about planting (sowing) and maintaining (reaping) rain gardens. This is a great opportunity to get your hands in the soil and learn how to install and maintain a rain garden. The workshop is free, but you must register to attend. To sign up, register online or call Arletha Manlove, 816-936-8808.

This rain garden demonstration is part of the Sowers of Sustainability program sponsored by Keep Kansas City Beautiful and Bridging the Gap, in partnership with the Green Impact Zone. The Sowers of Sustainability program will host three additional gardening workshops in August and September. Visit www.greenimpactzone.org to learn more, or call 816-936-8808.

The Green Impact Zone is a 150-square-block area — 39th to 51st streets, and Troost to Prospect and Swope Parkway — that is the focus of an innovative partnership designed to transform an urban neighborhood into a sustainable community. Working with established neighborhood organizations and other community partners, the Mid-America Regional Council is coordinating efforts to target resources, including federal stimulus funds, to strengthen the Green Impact Zone economically, environmentally and socially. The initiative, proposed by U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II, has received national attention as a model for place-based strategies to improve the quality of life in declining neighborhoods.