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A Coloring Book About Safer Communities: r Communities: 

Rain Garden Rain Gardens
For Teachers, Parents and Guar eachers, Parents and Guardians

For more information about other ways to reduce your risk, go to https://www.FEMA.go ttps://www.FEMA.gov. 

Specific flood-related reading can be found at: https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps/ ema.gov/flood-maps/

products-tools/know-y products-tools/know-your-risk/homeo our-risk/homeowners-renters/pro wners-renters/protect-property t-property

Welcome to our rain garden coloring book! The Federal Emergency Management Agency 

(FEMA) has created the My Rain Garden coloring book to help you and your young students 

learn more about how rain gardens can help make your home and community safer. 

Rain gardens can be made in areas that normally fill with water during storms. A rain garden 

is made up of rocks, plants and trees that help manage water when it rains. They act like big 

sponges to soak up water and help the extra water move back to storm drains and rivers. 

This book includes several pages for coloring and learning, as well as directions for activities 

such as nature hunts and building your own rain garden that can be done with an adult. Share 

your kid’s creations with us at @FEMA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. We hope you and 

the children in your life enjoy the coloring book!
Oh no! I Oh no! It rained a t rained and now my yard is w rd is wet.

I see a big puddle by my soccer net. ig puddle by my soccer net.
How can I keep this water from making a pond? eep this water from making a pond?

I know, a rain gar I know, a rain garden will help like a magic wand! ill help like a magic wand!
I will use the right plants, soil and trees. ts, soil and trees.

The garden will soak up the water with ease!
Now my yard is safer and less likely to flood. ard is safer and less likely to flood.

Does your town have too much water and mud? e too much water and mud?
Flood

A flood happens when rising water flows over ground that is usually dry, 

because it has nowhere else to go. Flooding can happen when there is too 

much rain or when snow or ice melts too quickly.

Puddle

A puddle is a small pool of water. 

Rain Garden Rain Garden

A rain garden is made of plants, trees and stones that help soak up water. 

Worms, bugs and butterflies can make this their home too. 

Rain

Rain is water that falls from clouds in the sky. 

Soil

Soil is the earth under your feet. It’s made of many different things, like rock, 

water, air and living and nonliving things. 

Soak Up

This is what happens when something takes in a lot of water, like the roots of 

a plant or a rain garden. 

Glossary
Going on a Nature Hunt

Things I Found Outside My Guess: 

Soak Up or Run Off? What Happened?

1. Find a small bag.

2. Go outside and collect some things in nature like rocks, bark and dirt and put them 

in your bag to test.

3. Take your bag inside and empty it onto a paper plate.

4. Write down the things you collected below.

5. Then, guess what will happen when water is poured over the things you collected. Will it 

soak in or run off? Write your guess below.

6. Finally, fill a small cup with some water and pour it over each of the things you collected

7. Write down if the water soaked in or ran off.

Now, you know some of the things you need to keep in your yard to soak up water and stop 

puddles from forming. A yard with no puddles is a safer yard!

Did you know some things in nature soak up water and other things don’t? To help stop 

flooding or puddles from forming in your yard or town, it‘s best to have more things 

that soak up water. 

Let’s follow the steps below and go on a nature hunt for some things that we can test.

Things you’ll need:

• small bag

• paper plate

• small cup of water 

• pencil

Activity
1. First, add a one inch layer of stones (about the width of a quarter) to the bottom 

of the container.

2. Then, add soil so one side of the container has soil higher than the other.

3. Next, find the side of the container with the higher soil and put small stones all the way 

down the hill. This will make a “water slide” and the water will run down the stones.

4. Last, add some little plants along the side of the water slide. 

Now, let’s see your rain garden work! Slowly pour some water on top of the soil on the high 

side of the container and watch what happens. Do you see how the water runs down the 

little stones and into the soil toward the bottom where it soaks in? This is what would happen 

if you had a rain garden. It would help protect your home from flooding.

When it rains, the water has to go somewhere. Where does it go when it can’t soak into 

the soil? Why is it important for rain to soak into the soil?

Small stones

Soil

Water slide made 

of small stones

Small plants

Making a Terrarium Rain Ga rium Rain Garden

Things you’ll need:

• a clear container

• small stones or pebbles

• soil

• little plants

• water

• little toys for decoration (optional)

Activity
For more information, check out:

https://www.floodsmart.gov/flood