Friday, June 19, 2009
USI students will build a rain garden at Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden
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Contact for more information:
Wendy Knipe Bredhold Media Relations Specialist, News & Information Services 812/461-5259 Rain gardens are storm water management tools that allow rainwater to be diverted from parking lots, driveways, sidewalks, and other impermeable surfaces and help reduce flooding and water pollution. Dr. Brandon Field, USI assistant professor of engineering, said, "Rain gardens reduce the runoff that goes into the storm drain, but they also return nutrients from the rain back to the soil instead of the sewage treatment plant, and serve as a filter to cleanse the rain of pollutants." Field will demonstrate the storm water retention properties of rain gardens before he and students in the University's STEM (science, engineering, technology, and mathematics) Early Undergraduate Research Program get to work planting 500 native plants for the zoo's demonstration garden. The garden was designed by Paul Bouseman, the zoo's botanical curator, and funded by a grant from the Vanderburgh County SWCD. Misty Minar, grounds maintenance for the zoo, will lead the installation. The rain garden will supplement measures the zoo has already taken to protect water quality, including building wetlands and native grass filter strips. Bouseman said, "Rain gardens are a great conservation practice homeowners can implement to help improve water quality and reduce flooding. Our rain garden was designed with native plants, which will provide year-round beauty in the landscape while providing habitat for butterflies and wild birds." Field said the rain garden will be a focal point of the zoo's new front door. "It will be one of the first things you see when you get to the zoo, if you're not heading straight for your favorite animal." After the garden is planted, information about rain gardens and the specific plants used in the zoo's demonstration garden will be available on the zoo's website at www.meskerparkzoo.com. USI's Center for Applied Research (CAR) coordinated the joint venture. For more information, contact Elissa Bakke, CAR project coordinator, at 812/454-8946. Wendy Knipe Bredhold News & Information Services 812/461-5259 or wkbredhold@usi.edu |
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