What is Community Backyards?
Community Backyards is an educational rebate program that was created to teach Franklin County, Ohio residents about how you can improve water quality beginning right in your own backyard. Residents can earn $50 for your yard by participating in the online course and quiz or attending an in-person workshop. After participation, you will receive a voucher with details on your eligible rebate items and how to redeem your rebate. Due to the amount of participation, vouchers are offered on a first-come, first-served basis and expire after
45 days. Vouchers and rebates are limited to
one voucher/rebate per household per year to ensure we can reach as many households as possible! Funding for the program is limited, and the program might close early if rebate funding for your community runs out.
Community Backyards participants will be invited to be a City of Columbus
GreenSpot after receiving their voucher. Why? By implementing one of the backyard conservation rebate practices, you're already working on going green anyway! Visit
GreenSpot to learn more about sustainability and how you can be more green.
Who is eligible for a rebate?
Residents who live in the following tax districts are eligible for a rebate. Do you know what your residence's primary tax district is? In Franklin County, your mailing address or school district is sometimes different from your tax district! Because of this, we verify every single participant's tax district via the
Franklin County Auditor - which residents can do too! Please see the list of participating communities below.
2024 Participating Communities
BEXLEY • COLUMBUS • CANAL WINCHESTER • DUBLIN • GAHANNA • GROVE CITY
HILLIARD • NEW ALBANY • OBETZ • REYNOLDSBURG • UPPER ARLINGTON • WESTERVILLE • WORTHINGTON • UNINCORPORATED FRANKLIN COUNTY TOWNSHIPS
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Non-participating Municipalities in Franklin County: Brice, Grandview Heights, Harrisburg, Lockbourne, Marble Cliff, Minerva Park, Pickerington, Riverlea, Urbancrest, Valleyview, Whitehall. If you live in one of those communities, you are still eligible for a rebate on a rain barrel or a SWACO compost bin, but you are NOT eligible for native plant or rain garden rebates.
If you live outside of Franklin County, please visit your local county's Soil and Water Conservation District for available resources and programs.
How do I participate in Community Backyards?
- Fill out the online course page with your most up to date information including home address, phone number and email address.
- Take the online course.
- After the course, take the short quiz and hit submit. When you pass the quiz, your information is sent to the team at Franklin Soil and Water.
- We manually verify your eligibility and send you a voucher with your eligible rebate items and instructions within approximately 2 weeks of taking the course. You will NOT receive your voucher immediately.
- If you have not received your voucher via email 2 weeks after taking the course, please check your spam, junk, and other email folders first. It often ends up in spam or junk folders.
- Follow the instructions on your voucher for how to redeem your rebate & receive your reimbursement.
Take the online course
The online course is currently closed. Come back in April 2025.
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OR | - Find a workshop that works for you. The Community Backyards workshops are FREE for anyone to attend, and offer information, interaction, and answers to your questions with staff or volunteers knowledgable about backyard conservation. You can attend a workshop in a community that is different than where you live!
- Register in advance if you plan to attend. Registration is encouraged but not required. We cannot guarantee a seat will be available if you don't register though.
- You must attend the class for the entire duration of about an hour and a half. At the class, you will receive a voucher with your eligible rebate items and instructions on how to redeem your rebate if you registered in advance. If you did not register in advance, your voucher will be sent a few business days after the workshop.
- Follow the instructions on your voucher for how to redeem your rebate & receive your reimbursement.
Sign up for a workshop
We will have more workshops beginning in April 2025. Registration encouraged but not required.
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