Summer 2025 In-Person Professional Certification
July 10 @ 10:00 am - August 14 @ 1:00 pm
$100
The Professional Certification is geared toward landscape professionals and contractors looking to install rain gardens professionally on residential properties. Your Professional Rain Gardener Certification can be used to promote your expertise and as a selling point for your business.
2025 Summer In-person Class Dates:
The Master Rain Gardener (MRG) course includes five (5) classes over a six-week period. All classes will be held at the Watershed Stewardship Center on Thursdays from 10:00am – 1:00pm.*
- July 10, 2025: Class 1 – Watersheds, Stormwater, and Site Selection
- July 17, 2025: Class 2 – Sizing and Soils
- July 24, 2025: Class 3 – Digging and Planning
- July 31, 2025: Class 4 – Plant Section and Design
- August 14, 2025: Class 5 – Final Design Student Presentations
*Participants will have the opportunity to attend optional field trips to local rain gardens and nurseries after each class! Light refreshments will be provided.
Unable to make all the classes? A hybrid option is available!
We offer an online course that follows the same content as the in-person course. If you need to miss any classes, you can watch the online portion to keep up to date.
Need-based scholarships are available!
We are committed to creating a more diverse and inclusive program that is accessible to all Ohio residents. Please reach out to Danielle Dejak (ddejak@crwp.org) to learn more about our need-based scholarship opportunities. Based on need, the course can be available for as low as $30.
Completing your Professional Rain Gardener Certification
This course will provide you with the information and experience to design, install, and maintain rain gardens professionally and become a Certified Professional Rain Gardener. Participants in the professional certification track will be required to pass a final exam and either participate in a field day (public rain garden installation) or install a residential rain garden.
Graduates will receive a Master Rain Gardener t-shirt, yard sign, and a certificate of completion (included in the cost of registration). Professionals will also have to option to be listed on a public website of Northeast Ohio Professional Rain Gardeners that will be maintained by and held on partner websites.
What is a rain garden?
Rain gardens work with nature to collect and filter rainwater that runs off impervious surfaces like rooftops and driveways. Impervious surfaces lead to increases in surface runoff and often result in increased flooding and stream bank erosion. As water travels over impervious surfaces it also has the potential to pick up pollutants. Polluted stormwater runoff enters our rivers and lakes and is one of the leading threats to water quality in the U.S. Rain gardens naturally manage stormwater by infiltrating precipitation and allowing it to soak into the ground rather than sending it directly to storm sewers and nearby streams untreated.