Clallam Conservation District Executive Director Joe Holtrop explains how home gardeners can capture storm water using rain gardens at noon Thursday, May 9, in the county commissioners meeting room of the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.

A rain garden is a shallow depression that collects, absorbs and filters runoff and efficiently supports an attractive landscape. The presentation will detail how rain gardens provide multiple benefits to any landscape by reducing flooding and how home gardeners can incorporate rain gardens into their landscapes to help manage storm water. Holtrop will identify site selection, critical planning, installing and maintenance steps and what to plant in a rain garden.

This presentation is part of the Green Thumbs Garden Tips education series sponsored by the WSU Clallam County Master Gardeners on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month in Port Angeles. The educational series provides home gardeners with education on gardening topics relevant to planting and maintaining sustainable gardens and landscapes in Clallam County.

Presentations are free and open to the public; however, donations to help offset copying costs for handouts are accepted. Attendees may bring a lunch.

Holtrop has an undergraduate and master’s degree in landscape architecture and a master’s degree in adult education. He has been giving presentations, leading workshops and teaching courses on sustainable landscaping for 30 years.

For more about the series or presentation, call 360-565-2679.