What's Happening in Mississauga, ON…

Representatives from the area’s media organizations and the general public were recently invited to attend a morning showcase of the city’s new Central Parkway Rain Garden

Those who came out got to meet the sponsors of the project, including the TD Green Streets, which provided a grant that funded a large portion of the garden. They also got a chance to learn more about how this new form of ‘green’ urban planning works.

Rain gardens help to absorb the rainwater that flows off of paved areas such as city streets and parking lots. This helps to keep it from entering the storm drain system during times of heavy precipitation, and filters what does enter it, thus reducing many of the pollutants that it may carry. This means that the water entering local streams, the river, and Lake Ontario is much cleaner than it would be otherwise.

An event like this can help to keep the public informed about what is going on in their city. Flyer printing firms can create leaflets to hand out that contain more information.

People also learned how the trees planted in the rain garden will do their part in keeping the water clean, and will also remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, replacing it with oxygen. This is all part of building a city that can sustain itself well into the future.