Stormwater Outreach and Education

What is Stormwater Runoff?

Stormwater runoff is when rain flows off impervious surfaces (streets, sidewalks, roofs, etc.) into storm drains, creeks, and streams - bringing pollution with it.

Our stormwater outreach and education program provides information on ways to prevent water pollution and why preserving our water resources is important!

Rain Garden Apprenticeship Program

We are partnering with Urban Sustainability Solutions to offer paid rain garden apprenticeships for high school students and teachers that will expand their experience with green stormwater infrastructure (GSI)! Learn more about the program!

Interactive GSI Monitoring StoryMap

Follow along with our interactive GSI Monitoring StoryMaps to learn about observing your environment!

GSI Virtual Tour

Have you wondered where green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) is throughout the city? Explore the GSI Virtual Tour to see how Raleigh uses GSI to improve local water quality!

Check out the virtual tour!

See Where We've Been

Use this map to see if we've visited a school near you:

Activities

We provide a variety of educational resources and activities that are science standard aligned and may be able to customize our program to your needs. Contact us to share what you're looking for! Click through the images to see examples of our activities!

Moore Square Stormwater Career Day — Career Day

Request a visit from Raleigh Stormwater to visit your school, organization, or business to show how we help the city protect our waterways.

Kids spraying water on landscape roads, houses, cars, and streams to show the impact of stormwater runoff — Enviroscape Demonstration

An EnviroScape is a 3-D model of a watershed that is hands-on, interactive, and shows direct impacts of pollution on streams, lakes, and rivers. This demonstration is great for all ages!

Clay Watershed Model

Build a **clay watershed model** to learn how water flows over hills and through neighborhoods into a stream, creek or river every time it rains.

Stormwater Story Time

Listen to stormwater story time to learn how our actions affect local water.

Rain Garden in a Bottle

Build a rain garden in a bottle to see how plants and soil filter out pollutants from stormwater.

Stormwater Awards and Contests

The 2026 Capture It! Arts Contest and Stormwater Smart Award now closed. See current and previous contest winners.

Virtual Classroom Resources

Looking for online content to support virtual learning? Check out the video gallery below.

Raleigh Water: Lifecycle of Water

Enviroscape demo: Learn about Water Pollution

This hand-on activity shows you where water flows when it rains. Plus, the types of pollution water picks up along the way and how that impacts streams and rivers

How Litter and Trash Affects Streams

How Pet Waste Affects Streams

How Yard Waste Affects Streams

How Pesticides Affect Streams

How Household Chemicals Affect Streams

How Vehicle Maintenance Affects Streams

What’s a Floodplain?

A floodplain is the area next to a creek or river that floods. Learn about the best ways to stay safe in this area and the natural benefits the floodplain has on the environment.