Rainwater runs off the concrete into the garden.

Are you looking for a creative, yet environmentally friendly way to use rainwater runoff? Consider planting a rain garden.

To help you start a rain garden, the Kansas State University Small Business Environmental Assistance program is hosting a free webinar on rain garden maintenance and wildflower infiltration basins May 26 from 10 – 11 a.m.

A rain garden is usually planted in a depressed area that “catches” water runoff from roofs, driveways and walkways.

In addition to aesthetically improving your lawn area, rain gardens help control local flooding, provide habitats for birds, butterflies and beneficial insects, and improve water quality by filtering run-off, say experts with Kansas State University.

The rain garden webinar is available to anyone with an Internet connection and computer speakers or a phone line.

Topics include rain garden installation, maintenance, preferred plants, typical challenges and results. The speakers will be Lee Skabelund, assistant professor in landscape architecture at K-State, and Sylvia Michaelis, infrastructure support manager with the City of Topeka Water Pollution Control Division.

To register for the webinar, visit www.sbeap.org. Click on the link in the yellow box and follow the log-in instructions.

For more information, contact Ryan Hamel at 913-715-7018 or 800-578-8898 or rhamel@ksu.edu.