The new bio-absorption garden – aka rain garden – next to the Marble House visitor parking lot in Newport was officially dedicated in June, though with recent rains it had already been doing its job of preventing stormwater runoff.

A project of Scenic Aquidneck (The Preservation Society of Newport County, Aquidneck Island Land Trust, Preserve Rhode Island and the van Beuren Charitable Foundation), the garden was constructed by O’Connor Design Build in Middletown.

This 2,800-square-foot garden will capture and filter stormwater runoff, reducing pollution and mitigating flooding. It is functional and environmentally friendly but also beautifies the space with an array of new native plantings that will promote biodiversity while attracting birds and pollinators. Preservation Society CEO Trudy Coxe noted that this new rain garden is the latest in a series of important projects completed by Scenic Aquidneck. Others include rebuilding hundreds of feet of stone wall, a project to bury power lines along Second Beach in Middletown, documenting historic barns across Aquidneck Island and pushing for historic tax credits at the state level. For more information on properties managed by The Preservation Society of Newport County, visit https://www.newportmansions.org/. Photo credit to Natasha Harrison of the Newport Tree Conservancy, far left.