Woods Hall Rain Garden

The Woods Hall Rain Garden was implemented in partnership with the Anacostia Watershed Society and completed in 2011 as a way to manage stormwater runoff during high rain events. This garden is on the west side of Woods Hall and contains carefully selected plants and mulch that are equipped to retain and clean the stormwater, help it percolate the soil, and naturally filter pollutants. It also takes advantage of the fallen leaves of nearby willow oaks (Quercus phellos) as a mulch layer.

Some of the plants within this garden that both address stormwater issues and also support our native pollinators are: black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta), joe-pye weed (Eutrochium purpureum), ferns (Polypodiopsida), eastern redbuds (Cercis canadensis), winterberry holly (Ilex verticillata), fothergilla (Fothergilla), fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica), boneset (Eupatorium perfoliatum), smooth blue asters (Symphyotrichum laeve), purple beautyberry (Callicarpa dichotoma), and false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides).

Ten years after establishment, in 2023, The Woods Hall Rain garden became a Certified Wildlife Habitat with the Prince Geroge’s Audubon Society by trained habitat stewards of Epsilon Eta for demonstrating a supporting habitat through the use of native plants and conservation landscape practices.