Every time the Schuylkill Center gets 1" of rain, Rain Yard captures and slows over 3,000 gallons of water. With the average of 40" of rain Philadelphia gets per year, it captures and slows nearly 100,000 gallons.
Rain Yard
Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2013
Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, ArcelorMittal, Rees Construction, Sherwin-Williams, Johnson & Johnson, and many hardworking volunteers
Materials
Painted steel, galvanized troughs, excavated soil, native plants
Dimensions
75' long x 55' wide x 20' tall
Rain Yard creates a “bunk bed” for nature and people: rain spreads out below the mesh platform while people walk and explore at the surface. This space allows visitors to get hands-on and have fun with rainwater drainage. If rain could have its way, it would flow across the landscape, and take its time soaking into the soil. People have trouble living with the sogginess of rain’s presence and channel rain into narrow pipes and drains to keep the landscape dry.
For more information on Rain Yard, click here.