ONLINE - ZOOM

This is a two-part interactive session: 18 Apr 2024 9:30AM – 12:30PM AND 23 Apr 2024 9:30AM – 12:30PM

Society of Garden Designers Sustainability CPD Sessions by Wendy Allen are listed on and bookable from the SGD Events page:
https://www.sgd.org.uk/events/calendar/699/sgd-cpd-digital-sustainability-creative-biodiverse-suds-with-wendy-allen-18th-23rd-april-2024

ONLINE - ZOOM

This is a two-part interactive session: 22 Jun 2023 9:30AM – 12:30PM AND 27 Jun 2023 9:30AM – 12:30PM

Society of Garden Designers Sustainability CPD Sessions by Wendy Allen are listed on and bookable from the SGD Events page: https://www.sgd.org.uk/events/calendar/619/sgd_sustainability_cpd_creative_biodiverse_suds_with_wendy_allen_22nd_27th_june_2023

This workshop is now full – but we may look to run a similar workshop in the Spring. If you’re interested please contact Sam.Ramsden@hull.ac.uk NOW FULLY BOOKED

‘What’s in a Rain Garden? Creative Surface Water Management to Create Biodiversity

Learn how to plan and install small-scale, achievable rain gardens that improve flood resilience by managing surface water and improving biodiversity in our FREE workshop

Rain gardens and rain planters are just two possible components of a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS). Mimicking natural processes to filter, slow and store rainwater, they look great and provide green infrastructure and opportunities to create biodiverse habitats.

We welcome Wendy Allen, Garden & SuDS Consultant and John Little, Grass Roof Company and brownfield substrate innovator to help deliver this interactive workshop.

The workshop is aimed at representatives of charities, social enterprises and businesses, whether you’re interested in installing rain gardens on your property or working towards offering rain garden installation as a new service.

We will cover how to plan, construct and install a small DIY rain garden and rain planter, including:

• an overview of creative & achievable surface water runoff/sustainable drainage solutions (SuDS)

• how to assess a site

• calculations for sizing/ordering materials

• proven methods of small-scale rain garden and rain planter construction

• suitable plants & planting materials to withstand flood and drought conditions.

We will also look at what can be learnt from brownfield sites and other wild landscapes, in planning rain gardens for urban environments.

The event includes a networking lunch, followed by guided visits to a number of small-scale community sites where we’ll discuss the opportunities for surface water and habitat/biodiversity management. More information on the exact locations will follow shortly – we may be able to provide transport for these afternoon site visits, please indicate during booking if this is requested.

Society of Garden Designers Sustainability CPD Sessions by Wendy Allen are listed on and bookable from the SGD Events page:

https://www.sgd.org.uk/events/calendar/544/sgd_cpd_digital_sustainability_workshop_creative_suds_design_with_wendy_allen_10_11_oct_2022

Part of THE GREAT BIG GREEN WEEK - Marlborough

A hands-on workshop! Come to learn about rainwater harvesting and creating a biodiverse downpipe rain planter feature, in the inspiring surroundings of a permaculture garden.

A fantastic opportunity to work alongside Wendy Allen, installing a water butt for free rainwater harvesting and a down pipe rain planter feature.

Thanks to Tina for opening up her innovative eco-focused garden for the workshop. Attendees can be inspired by permaculture principles and ideas too!

Booking essential, places limited: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/creative-ways-with-rainwater-tickets-411294351477

Free online talk - open to all

Booking essential: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/get-creative-with-rainwater-in-your-garden-tickets-389467396467

About the event:

Join award-winning garden designer Wendy Allen to find out how gardeners can harness the potential of rainwater. This free natural resource can be a powerful ally in saving water, supporting wildlife, and lightening the load on our beautiful rivers.

Discover the benefits of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) such as rain gardens, which plants best suit them, and how they can create opportunities for biodiversity. We'll also learn the truth about water butts, explore cost-effective ways to make additions like rain planters, find out when planning permission might be needed, and hear useful installation tips.

Wendy specialises in designing and building creative, biodiverse SuDS, including rain gardens. Her garden ‘The Rain Chain’ won both a Gold medal and the ‘Best Sustainable Garden’ award at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show 2009. She also designs rainscape schemes for UK Rivers Trust ‘Action for the River Kennet’ (ARK) where she leads teams of volunteers within communities and schools to build the projects, which all have a positive benefit for people, rivers and biodiversity.

This event is part of Watercress and Winterbournes, a Landscape Partnership Scheme that is protecting, enhancing, and celebrating seven local chalk streams https://www.hiwwt.org.uk/events/2022-09-08-get-creative-rainwater-your-garden

Wendy Allen has designed two corten steel rain planters and will team up with John Little (Brownfield Landscape Consultant), Susanna Grant (Author & Gardener) and Blanche Cameron (Environmental Design Lecturer, Bartlett School of Architecture) to install the rain planters as part of this workshop.

The workshop is limited to students and staff of UCL

The innovative, biodiverse rain planters for Medawar Garden have been commissioned by UCL as part of the Wild Bloomsbury Strategy, to deliver more biodiverse habitat, water management and climate change adaptation.

Designed by Wendy Allen Designs, each filtration rain planter has a different layer order inside the planter, for students and staff to monitor and discover if they perform differently to manage stormwater.

Rain planters are just one possible component of a sustainable drainage system (SuDS). They capture, store and slow surface water runoff to put less rain down the drain.

Benefits include more habitat and contact with nature, greening and cooling next to buildings, and a reduction in surface flooding and sewer overflow into our rivers and watercourses.

#NatureBasedSolutions #SuDS #SlowTheFlow #DisconnectTheDownpipe #GreenInfrastructure #Biodiversity

Wendy Allen developed ‘How to build a DIY Rain Garden’ and ‘How to build a DIY Rain Planter’ workshops for Rain Garden UK, and teaches them alongside Charlotte Hitchmough, Director of Action for the River Kennet.

These workshops are aimed at homeowners and community groups, and introduce the detail and practicalities of retro-fitting small-scale rain planters (Part 1) and rain gardens (Part 2).

The next dates are:

22nd June 2022 – 09.30 - 13:30 ONLINE
Rescuing Rain | How to Build a DIY Rain Planter (Part 1) FULLY BOOKED - WAITING LIST

16th July 2022 – 09.30 - 16.30 PRACTICAL workshop, Baydon, Wilts
Understanding Rainfall | How to Build a DIY Rain Garden (Part 2)

For more information and booking, see this link: http://www.riverkennet.org/farms-and-suds/raingardens or raingarden.uk/events

Wendy Allen teaches her ‘How to build a DIY Rain Garden’ and ‘How to build a DIY Rain Planter’ workshops as part of Rain Garden UK’s courses, developed with Charlotte Hitchmough, Director of Action for the River Kennet.
The next few dates are:

14 March 2022 – 09.30 - 13.30 ONLINE
Understanding Rainfall | How to Build a DIY Rain Garden (Part 2)

16 March 2022 – 09.30 - 14.30 PRACTICAL workshop, Marlborough, Wilts
Rescuing Rain | How to Build a DIY Rain Planter (Part 1)

27 April 2022 - 9:30 - 13.30 ONLINE
Rescuing Rain | How to Build a DIY Rain Planter (Part 1)

For more information and booking, see this link: http://www.riverkennet.org/farms-and-suds/raingardens

An online talk for Green Squirrel’s ‘A Drop in the Ocean’ theme for the Cardiff community.

Wendy Allen will give an overview of her work with SuDS (Sustainable Drainage Systems) and present actionable steps that participants can take at home to capture, store and slow rainwater to reduce surface water runoff and create biodiverse green spaces.

https://greensquirrel.co.uk is a social enterprise offering practical, creative, and inclusive opportunities for individuals and communities to take action on the climate and ecological emergency. This event is for the sole use of their ‘Something Club’.

Wendy Allen for @RainGardenUK
These online training sessions (via Zoom) are designed to inspire and empower individuals and community groups to create RAIN PLANTERS (3rd Dec) and RAIN GARDENS (10th Dec) in their own garden or green space. A comprehensive overview of rivers, rainfall, sustainable drainage and practical know-how based on successful projects.

Note about online workshops: Part 1: Rain Planters and Part 2: Rain Gardens cover different content. The sessions are designed to fit together, and in an ideal world, attendees will book onto both sessions (3rd and 10th Dec 2021). The sessions have a limited number of attendees in order to enable full participation. They are not recorded, and although a handout will be provided, participants are encouraged to be present, ask questions and interact throughout the sessions to get the most from them.

Course leaders: Charlotte Hitchmough: Director, Action for the River Kennet.
Wendy Allen, Wendy Allen Designs, gold medal winning rain garden designer.

This workshop is free of charge, made possible by funding from Thames Water and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
Booking essential - email julie@riverkennet.org
For more details on @RainGardenUK courses, see: http://www.riverkennet.org/farms-and-suds/raingardens

Wendy Allen for @RainGardenUK
These online training sessions (via Zoom) are designed to inspire and empower individuals and community groups to create RAIN PLANTERS (3rd Dec) and RAIN GARDENS (10th Dec) in their own garden or green space. A comprehensive overview of rivers, rainfall, sustainable drainage and practical know-how based on successful projects.

Note about online workshops: Part 1: Rain Planters and Part 2: Rain Gardens cover different content. The sessions are designed to fit together, and in an ideal world, attendees will book onto both sessions (3rd and 10th Dec 2021). The sessions have a limited number of attendees in order to enable full participation. They are not recorded, and although a handout will be provided, participants are encouraged to be present, ask questions and interact throughout the sessions to get the most from them.

Course leaders: Charlotte Hitchmough: Director, Action for the River Kennet.
Wendy Allen, Wendy Allen Designs, gold medal winning rain garden designer.

This workshop is free of charge, made possible by funding from Thames Water and the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust.
Booking essential - email julie@riverkennet.org
For more details on @RainGardenUK courses, see: http://www.riverkennet.org/farms-and-suds/raingardens

Join Action for the River Kennet and Wendy Allen for a fun and practical FREE workshop to help your garden and the river!

Next date: Saturday 19 June 2021

Venue: Shalbourne CE Primary School SN8 3QH
Time: 10am-2pm (including a break for refreshments)

Booking essential: julie@riverkennet.org

In this practical morning workshop, you will discover how to:

• Choose a container and a position for a rain planter

• Fit a downpipe diverter onto a downpipe and correctly install a water butt, allowing it to overflow into the rain planter

• Add drainage, suitable soil and an overflow pipe to a rain planter

• Choose plants that will thrive in the aspect and conditions

A handout will be provided detailing all the techniques, plants and materials used.
And each household will receive a free downpipe diverter to take home!

Best of all – Shalbourne Primary School will be left with three completed rain planters ready to receive rainwater and help keep our rivers clean.

Workshop led by:
Wendy Allen – RHS Gold medal-winning garden designer, specialising in creative rainwater management and sustainable drainage systems
ARK – Action for the River Kennet

Bring your own gloves and water. Tools and instruction provided, but useful tools if you wish to bring your own are: trowel, shovel, fork, battery drill, hacksaw, stanley knife.
Tea, coffee, cake provided.

This is the first in a series of Rain Garden UK workshops funded by Thames Water and Wiltshire Wildlife Community Energy

Online talk for The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

Session theme: Rain gardens. How can we intercept rain water to benefit people and nature in the built environment? 

10am-1pm Lectures with discussion: Talks from Wendy Allen, award-winning garden designer on her work, focusing on community rain garden projects, and Owen Davies, highly experienced engineer on Local Authority application of rain gardens in highways to intercept, filter and manage rain and storm water.

A FREE Zoom talk organised by Transition Marlborough permaculture group, all details on how to join here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/252104369788628

Join Award-winning Garden Designer Wendy Allen and local wildflower seed specialists Paul Jupp (Meadow In My Garden) and Tim Evans (Meadowmania) for a 'how to' guide to making the most of wild and pollinator-friendly flowers in your garden.

This event supports the distribution of 800 packets of flower seed distributed from Marlborough to Ramsbury via Mildenhall and Axford, to create a mosaic of late spring to early autumn flowers that could total up to 1000square metres if every packet is sown.

The event will be recorded and available for viewing on the Transition Marlborough YouTube channel following the event.

Session theme: Rain gardens. How can we intercept rain water to benefit people and nature in the built environment? 

9.00am-11.00am Lectures with discussion: Talks from Wendy Allen, award-winning garden designer on her work, focusing on community rain garden projects, and Owen Davies, highly experienced engineer on Local Authority application of rain gardens in highways to intercept, filter and manage rain and storm water.

11.00am-11.30am Break 

11.30am-1.00pm Workshop: Rain garden design workshop

Wendy will be speaking at this practical workshop in Hackney, London, all about how to build rain gardens and stormwater planters. Everything you need to know to create Rainscapes at your home, office or school.
Organised by @10xGreenerE5 @CordwainersGrow

Open to all. Free to community projects (limited space). Contact @10xGreenerE5 (Twitter) for info, or email e5postcodegardener@ecoactive.org.uk.

#rainwatermanagement
#SuDS
#downpipeplanters
#stormwaterplanters
#raingardens
#downpipediverters