"Wow!" That was my response as I finished the Improve Our Water Quality class offered by Backyard Abundance. We think of Iowans as being well-educated. Then why is education about our native prairie and how wonderfully it managed water so neglected? Why do we continue to cover the land with concrete, build in flood plains, and tile our farm fields when we know that these things contribute to flooding?

I learned so much during this weekend class. Fred Meyer, Liz Maas, and Amy Bouska did a fabulous job of teaching me and the other students about managing water in the landscape, treating it as a valuable resource, not a problem. There are so many ways we can capture and store our precious water in our yards: rain barrels, rain gardens, swales, increasing soil organic matter, and many others. I went home from the class with tools and ideas for practical ways to use and care for water. They will save me time and money, too!

We actually helped build a rain garden at Jason Grimm's home. The class focused on ideas that can make our lives better, at home and in our community. The learning environment was awesome and it was great to be with other classmates who value the same things that I do and love talking about permaculture topics.

The weekend wrapped up at a Backyard Abundance yard tour, featuring two families who tore down a fence to build a shared rain garden. It was beautiful and inspiring. A steady stream of nearly 100 people visited the yards withing those two short hours! These events do so much to build community as people visit and share ideas.

I am a Master Gardener and have taken a permaculture design certification class. But I learned many things about design and bringing all the elements together in this class that were not covered in those programs. Thank you, Backyard Abundance!