Rain Garden Restoration Planting Days
Volunteers Needed Public Welcome Family-Friendly Free Event Hands-On/How-To Workshop Public Garden Tour Invasive Species Removal Habitat Installation/Maintenance Free Public Parking
Reciprocity Community Food Forest sits on a 1.4-acre floodplain in Altoona, reclaimed from condemned housing and formally adopted from the City of Altoona by our chapter. Its rain garden, designed to absorb and filter stormwater from the surrounding neighborhood, was set back this year when conventional contractors mowed and herbicided the site, removing native plants and letting invasive species move in.
We want to improve the space in one big push. Thanks to a Healing the Planet 2026 Grant from GIANT, MARTIN'S, and Keep PA Beautiful, we're putting over 300 Pennsylvania native plants into the ground across two planting days: Saturday, October 17th and Sunday, October 18th, from 12 to 4 pm each day.
The planting runs from a wet ponding zone at the garden's center out to a drier outer rim, with species chosen for their place in that gradient: Blue Flag Iris, Swamp Rose Mallow, and Buttonbush anchor the deepest zones; Turtlehead (host plant for the Baltimore Checkerspot) and Swamp Milkweed (one of the only milkweeds monarchs can use in wetland conditions) take the mid-wet transition; Cardinal Flower and Great Blue Lobelia build a hummingbird corridor through the middle; and Mountain Mint, Aronia Berry, American Highbush Cranberry, and Pawpaw handle the drier outer edge. Every tree and shrub in this planting is edible, and everything is native to Pennsylvania.
This is a big lift, and we need a crowd both days to pull it off. No experience necessary. All ages welcome. Come for an hour or stay the whole shift, whatever you can give helps.
What to bring: closed-toe shoes, water, sun protection. Gloves optional, we'll have extras on hand.
What we'll be doing: clearing remaining invasive growth, digging in over 300 plugs, shrubs, and young trees, and mulching beds as we go.
This restoration rebuilds stormwater function for the surrounding neighborhood, adds habitat for pollinators and species of conservation concern, and grows public food access on one of Altoona's most productive community sites. Come be part of it.
Additional Resources
- Grant program: Healing the Planet 2026 Grant