Rain Garden Project: here's how it looked!
What's this got to do with the Olentangy, here in Worthington? Nearly everyone in our Troop family lives in the Olentangy watershed. You, as well as everyone in your watershed, are part of the watershed community. Animals, birds, and fish are part of it, too. You influence the health of your watershed, good or bad, by how you treat its natural resources -- the soil, water, air, plants, and animals.
 |
BSA Troop 365’s Olentangy Service project for the Fall of 2008 helps maintain the health of our watershed by installing a rain garden on City of Worthington property. It's on the corner of Highland & Worthington Galena Road! |
This is a demonstration rain garden developed in partnership with Friends of the Lower Olentangy Watershed (FLOW), the Franklin County Soil and Water Conservation Service, and the City of Worthington.
What is a Rain Garden?
Recent studies have shown that up to 70% of the pollution in our streams, rivers and lakes is carried there by run-off from our own yards and gardens.
A rain garden is an attractive landscaped area planted with perennial native plants which don’t mind getting “wet feet”. Built in a bowl shape, a rain garden is designed to increase infiltration allowing rain and snowmelt to seep naturally into the ground. Common “non-point source pollutants” from our yards that end up in local waterways include soil, fertilizers, pesticides, pet wastes, grass clippings and other yard debris.
Benefits? Rain gardens recharge groundwater supply, prevent water quality problems, provide habitat for birds and butterflies, and are great looking landscapes.
You can make one at home by following this simple manual.
Other things we’ve done in Olentangy River Service Projects:
| BSA 365 has adopted the four-mile segment of the State Scenic Olentangy River from Powell Road south to Antrim Park. The adoption requires service work twice a year. The river project never is done: trash pickup, work at Rush Run, painting the graffiti under the bridge, getting stung by bees. Thanks, guys! |
| Removing invasive species from the river bottom along the Olentangy. |
| Participating in the Rush Run Stream Restoration. |
| Cleaning up the river and its banks during both Spring and Fall, including plastic and metal trash, dumped canoes, grocery carts and shotguns. |