URBANA — Located right next to Allen Hall and Lincoln Avenue Residence Hall is a 13,000-square-foot area, thriving with native plants and wildlife. A bridge runs through the greenery, separating a giant red oak and a sycamore tree. But what many may not know is that this vibrant space is actually the Red Oak Rain Garden — a carefully engineered system.
Average rainfall in the Champaign-Urbana area has risen in the past century, according to the Illinois State Climatologist, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources considers flooding to be Illinois’ most prominent natural disaster. More than just stormwater sewers, rain gardens are one way to manage this increased rainfall.
“While a rain garden may look like a regular garden, it’s really doing more — it’s infrastructure,” said Eliana Brown, the water quality and stormwater specialist with Illinois Extension and RORG director.
Rain gardens differ from other gardens in a few key aspects, she said.
First, they’re designed to capture rainwater runoff from surfaces like sidewalks, streets and rooftops. The garden’s shallow bowl-like shape and colander structure allows water to soak into the ground rather than pooling. This process helps reduce flooding, improve water quality and replenish groundwater.
Equally important in rain gardens are the plants. Rain gardens are planted with carefully chosen species, usually native varieties that can tolerate varying degrees of water. Brown said soil scientists have found that the deep and shallow roots of native plants help create the perfect environment for mycorrhizal fungi to thrive. These fungi act like a glue, improving the soil structure by forming tiny channels—like little straws—that let water move through easily. These plants not only assist in water absorption, but also support pollinators and other wildlife by providing food and habitat.
Brown said she first had the idea for a rain garden 20 years ago, and it was created as a faculty-student project that focused on sustainable infrastructure. The location of the RORG was selected by the campus landscape architect at the time.
“Water would sit for days after storms, covering the busy sidewalk there,” Brown said. “We’ve had one of our students do a pedestrian brand survey in the area and found that there are approximately 180 people that pass through per hour on weekdays.”
Now, the rain garden basin soaks in water within 28 to 48 hours, solving the flooding problem.
The Red Oak Rain Garden today
The Red Oak Rain Garden people enjoy today is actually a renovation from 2019.
“It was a beautiful space and a great teaching tool, but over time it became difficult for the campus to maintain,” Brown said. “Even though I was assigned to other projects, I was really interested in why this was. Would it be possible to approach things differently for long-term success?”
A team was put together to improve the rain garden. Layne Knoche, now a stormwater outreach associate with Illinois Extension and RORG’s assistant director, was a student when he first got involved with the RORG and helped with the 2019 renovation.
He said that RORG’s goal is not only to benefit the campus, but also to provide educational green stormwater infrastructure resources to everyone, which the team does through a variety of programs. Since the renovation, RORG has had nearly 2,000 people attend its events and tours as a demonstration site for extension programming.
Through Illinois Extension, RORG helps communities across Illinois design and maintain rain gardens of their own through a rainscaping program. For professionals, they have a national green stormwater infrastructure certification program. RORG also helps manage multiple websites, including a rainfall management page and Illinois Groundwork.
“The lessons from the Red Oak Green Garden reach far beyond campus,” Knoche said. “These are meant to be tools that people from around the state can utilize in implementing successful [green stormwater infrastructure].”
More than just infrastructure and education
Knoche recalled a time during a tour when a group of preschoolers stood on the boardwalk bridge overlooking the rain garden.
“I still get chills to this day because it was the first time that as a landscape designer, I saw a space that I had envisioned performing above and beyond my expectations,” Knoche said.
He said that the children had their hands on the rails and were eye-level with the plants.
“All of the sudden, this swarm of hummingbirds comes in and they’re on the cardinal flowers, and the kids are just so excited about the nature that’s in front of them. And then the monarch butterflies come in, and you just see their eyes light up,” Knoche said. “These are just little tiny kids, but in that moment, I couldn’t help but think that that magical experience is one of these kids’ first steps towards becoming the next generation of environmentalists.”
Maddy Craft, an extension outreach associate with Illinois Extension and RORG’s volunteer coordinator, was one of the students personally impacted by the rain garden. During her time at the University of Illinois, she lived at Allen Hall and frequently passed by the garden, but had no idea what it was until her sophomore year when she attended a welcome event.
“Layne gave us a tour and it really was really eye-opening, very cool,” Craft said. “I had always had a love for the environment and everything, but this kind of was like all-in-one — everything that was really interesting to me. He asked us all if we were interested in volunteering to reach out to him, and so that’s what I did.”
Craft had started school as a landscape architecture major, but later transferred into sustainable design. From a volunteer, she became part of the RORG student team and moved up to work full-time for Illinois Extension. Craft said working with RORG solidified her passion for sustainable design.
“One of the first classes I took as a sustainable design student — we learned about the three pillars of sustainability or the three E’s: economy, environment and equity,” Craft said. “Seeing that in person right there, it clicked for me — sustainable design was what I wanted to get into.”
Brown said what’s most powerful is the personal connection people make with the rain garden.
“One student changed his major after seeing what the garden made possible, another told us that he decided to live near the Red Oak Rain Garden because there’s nowhere else on campus with this amount of natural beauty,” Brown said. “That kind of impact, that emotional, academic and ecological — it’s exactly why this space matters.”