Matt Ciminelli, owner of Ciminelli’s Landscape Services gave a talk on Bioswales at Riverbend Nursery in Virginia on August 19th. Over 40 people were in attendance to learn how to incorporate bioswales, rain gardens, green roofs and storm water management into construction and landscape plans. Bio-Swales are landscape elements designed to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water. They consist of a swaled drainage course with gently sloped sides (less than six percent) and filled with vegetation, compost and/or riprap. The water’s flow path, along with the wide and shallow ditch, is designed to maximize the time water spends in the swale, which aids the trapping of pollutants and silt. Benefits include reduced peak water flows, allows plants time to absorb pollutants, improves regional hydrology, reduces suspended solids, silt, metals, macronutrients, pesticides, and reduces water temperature entering waterways.