What’s Up Watershed, June Edition
Welcome back to another edition of “What’s Up, Watershed?” This past Memorial Day we experienced some deeply refreshing spring rains here in Philadelphia. My air conditioning is currently on the brink, so standing under the clouds and letting the cool raindrops hit my face felt rejuvenating to say the least!
Speaking of the recent rains, just a couple of weekends ago PRC helped to install several rain gardens on residential properties in Delaware County. To date, we’ve actually helped install over a hundred of these gardens in eastern PA. Have you heard about rain gardens?
In this edition, we’ll explore how rain gardens work and why they help our environment. Let’s go walking in the rain, shall we?
Chris Bunn
Environmental Program Coordinator
Most of us have at least one potted plant in our homes. Bring to mind what it’s like to water that plant — imagine pouring your watering can over the lip of the pot, watching the water as it fills up the planter and then slowly soaks down into the porous soil.
Now, why am I telling you this? Interestingly enough, rain gardens function in much a similar way, except on a larger scale!
Rain gardens are bowl-shaped gardens designed to capture rainwater from hard surfaces such as roofs and roads.
Rainwater is directed into these gardens through extended roof gutters, swales, or natural slopes in the landscape. As water enters the garden it begins to pool, filling up like our indoor pots and draining slowly down into the Earth.
These gardens are cultivated with beautiful native plants featuring flowers of purple, yellow, red, and white. The plants have deep root systems, creating channels for rainwater to easily soak into the ground.
Not only this, native plants provide food and shelter for a variety of birds (local and migrating), butterflies, insects and pollinators. Pollinators are especially important — we have them to thank for foods like apples, strawberries, potatoes, coffee, chocolate, and more.
Furthermore, rain gardens can help to protect our streams and rivers from pollution and flooding. Rain gardens help to prevent stormwater runoff from entering our storm sewer systems, which often drain directly to our streams. This can prevent harmful pollutants from entering our waterways while protecting communities downstream from dangerous floods.
To learn more about our rain garden programs, visit our website.
And to learn more about building your own rain garden, check out the Vermont Rain Garden Manual.
That’s all for now! Happy summer and I’ll see you next month.
CLICK HERE to read May 2024 blog: How to Plant a Nature-Friendly Landscape in 3 Easy Steps!
CLICK HERE to read April 2024 blog: April Showers: The Journey of a Spring Raindrop
CLICK HERE to learn more about watershed protection
MEET PRC ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM COORDINATOR CHRIS BUNN
On a day-to-day basis, Chris’ work includes creating watershed-focused educational content and supporting the implementation of nature-based solutions to residential stormwater pollution. In his free time, Chris enjoys writing and performing original music, growing food, and nerding out about native plants.
