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2 minute read
A Rain Garden Mother Nature Would be Proud Of
from 2021 CSR
Rain gardens are a natural, cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution to solve stormwater problems. They slow runoff and drainage from buildings, allowing it to infiltrate the ground and filter pollutants out of the water before reaching streams and groundwater. But it takes work! Careful management is needed to keep the rain gardens functioning as designed, ensuring that the plants are kept healthy and thriving.
That’s where SSC’s award-winning Grounds Management team at Aurora University in Aurora, Illinois comes in. The team manages a large, 6000 sq. ft. rain garden with a proven program that has stood the test of time.
Their rain garden was constructed in 2010 outside of Eckhart Hall, an administration building on the beautiful 42-acre campus. Since the installation, the garden has evolved. Some of the original plants did not thrive as intended, and the team had to find plant species that would perform better. As the rain garden matured, the plants continued to grow and maintenance needs have become more in-depth, requiring the team to grow with it.
The most significant challenge for this particular rain garden is the lack of irrigation. While rain gardens are designed to slow water and hold it for up to 48 hours, these drainage qualities make a planting space prone to drought. To limit the amount of hand watering needed, a two-three inch layer of triple ground hardwood mulch is maintained at all times. New mulch is inspected before installation to ensure that it does not have a high content of fine particles that could clog the drainage in the modified soil.
The team deadheads the flowers weekly to keep these perennials flowering all season long to encourage new blooms and keep the area looking clean. Weeds are hand-pulled during inspections, and all leaf litter is removed and composted. Removing this debris from the rain garden keeps the mulch free of unsightly dead plant material and helps to keep the original drainage qualities of the soil. The most successful part of the management portfolio is their Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. IPM programs set thresholds for insects and diseases. When pest presence rises above these thresholds, control measures are put in place. The core practice of their IPM programs are weekly inspections to scout for pests, problems and take any remedial actions needed. With detailed scouting records, the management program can be updated and improved every year.
Placing this unique garden space next to one of the original buildings on campus helped bring a modern look to a classic structure. The rain gardens at Aurora University are full of beautiful native plants and flowering perennials. In addition, the management practices put in place by SSC’s team ensures that this space will be filtering the water coming off the building for years to come.