Rain Garden Network

What Rain Garden Network does

Rain Garden Network, founded in 2003 and domiciled in Chicago, USA, operates as a small for-profit educational content publisher under the parent entity Ecotone Services, Inc. The company sells guidance on rain garden design, installation, and maintenance to individual homeowners, community groups, and municipalities seeking low-cost solutions to urban stormwater runoff. Its core 'technology' is a content-based methodology covering location selection, drainage area measurement, soil preparation, native plant selection, and seasonal maintenance, packaged as information rather than a software platform or engineered system.

The product offering consists of three digital products priced at $5.00 each (Rain Garden Installation Guide online course, Native Plant Guide digital download, and Maintenance Guide online course), supplemented by physical laminated ($20) or unlaminated ($12) guide packets that bundle all three. A free online course ('Rain Gardens and Why They Are Important') functions as a top-of-funnel acquisition tool. Sales are transacted through a sister e-commerce site, Navigation a New World (navigatingnewworld.com), while the main raingardennetwork.com domain serves as the educational marketing surface. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via owned websites and organic social channels (LinkedIn, Twitter), with an optional PayPal donation layer suggesting a partial mission-driven or non-profit character.

The business model is a pure one-time-purchase digital/physical content publisher with no subscription, no enterprise tier, no marketplace, no API, and no integrations. There is no evidence of B2B contracts, no named institutional customers, no funding history, and no patents or proprietary technology beyond the accumulated content corpus. Headcount is reported at 51-100 employees, which is materially inconsistent with the micro-pricing structure and extremely narrow product surface, suggesting either a non-revenue-generating educational mission, a heavily part-time contributor base, or overstated headcount figures.

Name

Rain Garden Network

Legal name

Ecotone Services, Inc.

Website

https://raingardennetwork.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Rain Garden Network is a Chicago-based educational content publisher founded in 2003 that sells low-cost rain garden installation, native plant, and maintenance guides directly to homeowners, community groups, and municipalities via its website and a sister e-commerce site.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Education and Stormwater Management Guides

akta.pro primary industry

Native & Pollinator Garden Design/Install (HSAIABAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Native, Pollinator & Drought-Tolerant Garden Installations (HSAIAFAL), Project- & Inquiry-Based Digital Learning Modules (EDAFACAD), Stormwater Collection & Conveyance (Inlets, Catch Basins, Pipes, Channels) (EUANAEAA)

Keywords

• Stormwater management education
• Rain garden guides
• Native plant landscaping
• Stormwater pollution prevention
• Green infrastructure training

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Marketing or Sales, Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Digital Guides and Online Courses: Sale of individual digital products including Rain Garden Installation Guide, Native Plant Guide, and Maintenance Guide as online courses or digital downloads priced at $5.00 each.
2. Physical Guide Packets: Sale of laminated ($20) or unlaminated ($12) physical packets containing three comprehensive guides: step-by-step build instructions, seasonal maintenance guide, and native plant selection guide.
3. Donations: The company accepts one-time gifts through PayPal, suggesting a donation-based revenue stream from supporters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Rain Garden Network sells educational content about rain garden design, installation, and maintenance, including three $5 digital guides (Installation, Native Plant, Maintenance) plus bundled physical laminated or unlaminated packets priced $12–$20. A free online course on rain gardens and stormwater pollution serves as a top-of-funnel acquisition tool. Distribution and transactions occur primarily through its main raingardennetwork.com site and a sister e-commerce site, navigatingnewworld.com, under parent company Ecotone Services, Inc.

Product overview

Rain Garden Network operates as an educational content platform offering guides, online courses, and physical information packets focused on rain garden design, installation, and maintenance. The core offering consists of three digital/online courses (Installation Guide, Native Plant Guide, and Maintenance Guide) priced at $5.00 each, sold through a sister site called 'Navigation a New World'. Physical laminated or unlaminated packets bundling all three guides are available for $12.00-$20.00. Additionally, free educational content about rain gardens and their environmental benefits is provided. The company was founded in 2003 by Ecotone Services, Inc. to bring simple, proven, and inexpensive solutions for local stormwater issues to individuals, homeowners, groups, organizations, and municipalities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Rain Garden Installation Guide (Online course) A step-by-step $5 online course that teaches homeowners how to build a rain garden, covering planning, location selection, drainage area measurement, design, and native plant selection.
• Rain Garden Native Plant Guide (Digital download) A $5 digital guide providing native plant selection information for rain gardens, focused on deep-rooted species that support local biodiversity including birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects.
• Rain Garden Maintenance Guide (Online course) A $5 season-to-season online course providing ongoing care instructions for rain gardens throughout the year.
• Rain Garden Network Information and Installation Packets (Physical bundle) A bundled physical packet containing three full-color guides: Step-by-Step Guide to Build a Rain Garden, Season-to-Season Rain Garden Maintenance Guide, and Plants for Rain Gardens Guide. Available laminated ($20) or unlaminated ($12).
• Free Online Course: Rain Gardens and Why They Are Important A free educational online course covering the importance of rain gardens and their role in addressing stormwater pollution and protecting freshwater resources. Used as a top-of-funnel acquisition tool to convert learners into paid guide purchasers.

Quantifiable outcome

• Rain gardens can absorb 30% to 40% more runoff than a standard lawn

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Navigation a New World (Navigating New World)minorOthersNavigation a New World is a sister website that serves as the e-commerce platform for Rain Garden Network products. All purchases of guides and packets are processed through this partner site. The relationship appears to be an affiliated entity under the same parent company (Ecotone Services, Inc.) rather than a formal partnership.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• This Old House: Long-running home improvement content brand offering educational articles, videos, courses, and product guides to DIY homeowners. Highly comparable content-to-commerce monetization model and homeowner audience, though spanning all home improvement rather than environmental landscaping specifically.
• BobVila.com: Iconic DIY home improvement content brand monetized through articles, product recommendations, and affiliate links to homeowners. Comparable content-driven direct-to-consumer model targeting the same DIY residential customer.
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center: Major institution promoting native plants and sustainable landscaping through research, educational resources, and plant databases. Comparable mission and content-driven model, but operates at significantly larger scale as a research/conservation institution and addresses the same native-plant-and-habitat conversation Rain Garden Network serves.
• Houzz: Massive home improvement and landscaping platform with deep content libraries, professional directories, and product marketplaces. Comparable in that both monetize homeowner landscaping intent via content + commerce, though Houzz operates across all home categories rather than specializing in ecological landscaping.
• Better Homes & Gardens (BH&G): Multi-channel consumer brand (magazine, web, video) generating gardening, landscaping, and home content with affiliated commerce. Overlaps with Rain Garden Network on residential gardening content and consumer audience, though at vastly larger scale and broader scope.

Direct peers

• Wild Ones: National nonprofit that educates homeowners and community groups on native plant landscaping using ecologically appropriate design. Highly comparable to Rain Garden Network: same deep-rooted native plant methodology, same DIY / no-permit positioning, and same homeowner-and-municipal audience, with educational content and member-based engagement.
• Native Plant Trust (formerly New England Wild Flower Society): Conservation organization that educates gardeners on native plant use and ecological landscaping in the same residential/stormwater nexus. Directly comparable educational content mission and target DIY homeowner audience focused on native plantings.

Others

• EPA WaterSense (and state extension services): Federal program (alongside university cooperative extension services) that publishes free consumer-facing stormwater and water-conservation educational content. Adjacent rather than competitive — both serve the same underlying consumer education need, but as a public resource; competitive pressure comes from the fact that much of Rain Garden Network's content is freely replicable by these agencies.
• Native Plants Nursery Direct (e.g., Prairie Moon Nursery): Major native plant retailer that also publishes extensive educational content on native plant selection and ecological garden design. Comparable audience and information-density content model, and a potential commerce partner / affiliate channel for Rain Garden Network to monetize plant purchases downstream of its guides.

Emerging players

• LawnStarter: Lawn care services marketplace that also publishes significant educational content on lawn health, runoff, and eco-friendly practices. Comparable both on the green outdoor maintenance topic and the content-plus-commercial-services hybrid model serving homeowners.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/raingardennet

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rain Garden Network