Upstream Pittsburgh’s Garden Tour
Hosted by Keith Moore of Upstream PGH
Location: Wilkinsburg, PA (address will be sent the day before the tour)
Date: Saturday, August 31st
Time: 10am
In recent years UpstreamPgh has completed a variety of green stormwater infrastructure sites (GSI) in Pittsburgh’s East End area, particularly in Wilkinsburg. GSI simply put are large scale rain gardens. The Swissvale Hill Rain Garden was built on the site of 3 former vacant lots. Completed in 2021, the site manages thousands of gallons of stormwater annually. This site has 2 main basins that manage stormwater and these are stocked with native plants well suited to the harsh conditions of a municipal rain garden. Along with the 2 rain gardens, last year in 2023, 5 additional gardens were added to the site in an effort to reduce the amount of lawn space. These gardens vary from “mostly managed” to “wild meadow”. Native plants make up a large majority of the specimens in these gardens too. We also have a variety of native trees on the site including red maple, sugar maple, eastern white pine, eastern redbud, flowering dogwood, red buckeye, and persimmon. The Swissvale Hill Rain Garden has come a long way from its original state 4 years ago, but it still has a long way ahead as it matures into an urban wildlife sanctuary. Come see our young garden changing!
Limited space! (Registration will close the Thursday before the event.)