Rain Garden Demonstration Project

There is an existing vegetated swale within Alpine Park (near the play equipment) that acts as a rain garden presently.  However, the vegetation is predominantly little blue stem with little, if anything else, present.  The Board is working on improving the species diversity of this swale and to highlight it via some signage to promote the concept of rain gardens and to demonstrate, on a smaller scale, how easy and attractive a rain garden can be.  The installation of materials could be done as a volunteer effort and would likely be completed in a single day.  The following steps would need to be addressed to complete the project:

• Create planing plan
• Identify costs for plant materials based on the planting plan
• Select a date to complete the plantings
• Solicit involvement from volunteer groups (garden club, master gardeners, eagle scouts, etc.)
• Develop educational/instructional content for a sign near the improved rain garden
• Identify cost and funding source for development of signage (may recognize some cost savings if signage were also developed simultaneously for prairie establishment as well)
• Install the plants
• Install the sign
• Promotion of the demonstration project through the website, newsletter and QCTV

The first several steps could be completed as early as the end of June of 2013.  This could also likely include plant installation as well.  Developing content for a sign and sign design may take a bit more time.  If the intent is to promote the concept of rain gardens on private lots, presumably the content of the sign should highlight some of the benefits of rain gardens (infiltration, wildlife habitat, filtering of sediment and pollutants from runoff, etc.) and some of the viable native plants that can be used. 

The scope of the project will really depend on the overall planting plan.  This will help determine how much 'labor' (volunteers) will be needed for installation as well as to identify the cost of plant materials.

No action needed.  For discussion purposes only.