FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ​9/18/18  Contact: ​Matthew West  Community Organizer  Dakota Rural Action  605-697-5204 Ex. 280  mwest@dakotarural.orgRain Garden Unveiling: A celebration of​ improving Water Quality in the ​Sioux Empire.Dakota Rural Action is proud ​to hosts a Rain Garden Tour that highlights a beautiful solution to water pollution​. Dakota Rural Action in collaboration with SDSU Extension is hosting a Rain Garden Tour Tuesday, September 25, 2018 from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Sioux Falls at the site of a rain garden constructed this summer (1409 E 33rd St.). This is event is apart of Homegrown Sioux Empire’s Yard to Table month, a celebration of producing, preserving, consuming, and sharing what you grow around you! Yard to Table focuses on how to get your household involved, getting your hands dirty, and learning as you go. The ability to grow and raise the food that sustains us in the vicinity of our homes is important to fostering a self-sustaining and healthy lifestyle while building a community around local food production. Throughout the month of September, skills and information will be shared during events each week around the Sioux Empire Area. Yard to Table Month will culminate in the 7​th​ annual Tour de Coop. All events are free and open to the public.A rain garden is a shallow, landscaped depression that temporarily holds water runoff from impervious surfaces, such as rooftops, driveways and parking lots. The water held in a rain garden slowly infiltrates into the soil profile, while at the same time removes pollutants.The garden featured on this tour was constructed by members of Homegrown Sioux Empire, the local chapter of Dakota Rural Action and SDSU Extension staff following a series of rain garden design workshops hosted by SDSU Extension and Dakota Rural Action this spring in Brookings, Sioux Falls and Watertown.During the Rain Garden Unveiling tour, attendees will receive a brief overview of the design process, construction steps and lessons learned and discuss other methods and actions that individuals can take to have a positive impact on our water quality.Homegrown Sioux Empire will host these Yard to Table events during September:Thursday 9/6/18 – Winter GardeningSaturday 9/8/18 – Fruit of the Coop Farm TourSaturday 9/15/18 – Outdoor Campus ClassMonday 9/17/18 – Backyard SoDak Grown Potluck & MeetingSaturday 9/22/18 – Chicken Processing Skill ShareTuesday 9/25/18 – Backyard Rain Garden UnveilingSaturday 9/29/18 – 7th Annual Tour de CoopFor more details on each of the Yard to Table events visit ​www/facebook.com/homegrownsiouxempire/events​.###Dakota Rural Action is a grassroots family agriculture and conservation group that organizes South Dakotans to protect our family farmers and ranchers, natural resources, and unique way of life. www.dakotarural.org