Woodland Adds a Rain Garden

At Woodland, we often talk about how God’s first mandate was for us to care for the earth and the animal kingdom. So this summer, as part of our commitment to creation care, we’re replacing ash trees on our property, and spiffing up the north end with a rain garden—the largest in Maplewood!

Paul Eddy, our Teaching and Theological Resource Pastor, says, “What we know is rain runoff from parking lots like ours picks up pollutants that end up in our local waterways, which is not good for the environment. We’re going to take a big part of our north end parking lot, which we don’t use much, and create a rain garden there. This allows runoff water to hit the garden area where the soil acts as a filter and keeps a lot of pollutants out of local waters.”

Not only is this good for the environment, but it will also enhance our tiny home display. For the past five years, we’ve used the homes in our parking lot as a model to invite churches, community members and city officials to catch a vision of what a Sacred Settlement can look like.

Janice Rohling, our Executive Pastor, explains, “With the rain garden wrapped around the settlement, our hope is that we can create even more awareness. By modeling how to care for creation, and wrapping it around these tiny homes that model how to care for people, we’re hoping to create momentum and new ideas.”

Keep an eye out as the parking lot transforms!