I started working with Metro Blooms in 2009, and became a full-time staff member in 2010 as a Landscape Designer and Project Manager. I was drawn to Metro Blooms initially because of the ability for me to spread the message about protecting water quality through gardening. As time has passed, I have really become excited about our work in maintaining public spaces and green infrastructure.

Maintenance (or lack thereof) has been our biggest hurdle in getting more public projects built. Further, projects that lack maintenance not only being to fail and waste public dollars, but it can also have a negative impact on the public perception of raingardens. Schools, cities, and park boards across the country are always looking for solutions to the maintenance issue. In order for Metro Blooms to continue to build more projects in our communities, we have to be able to demonstrate that we can overcome the maintenance hurdle for the life of the project.

To address this issue, Metro Blooms is setting up a series of programs that will ensure that the physical maintenance can be performed on new and existing gardens. Further, we are putting in place a way to fund these projects through a combination of individual gifts and public partnerships.

This is why I feel excited for the future of Metro Blooms. In giving to Metro Blooms, you can help us to create a truly pioneering program that will provide a maintenance solution for public gardens and green infrastructure installations across the state.