Truman Parkway Rain Garden EarthCache
Truman Parkway Rain Garden
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An Earthcache is an Earth science lesson, we hope you will learn
something while completing this.
A rain garden is a shallow depression that is planted with
deep-rooted native plants and grasses. The garden should be
positioned near a runoff source like a downspout, driveway,
walkway, parking lot or storm drain. This reduces rain runoff by
allowing storm water to soak into the ground. They can be designed
for specific soils and climates. The purpose of a rain garden is to
improve water quality in nearby bodies of water, in this case the
Broad Creek and the South River.
A rain garden is not a water garden. Nor is it a pond or a wetland.
Conversely, a rain garden it is dry most of the time. It typically
holds water only during and following a rainfall event. They are
designed to be drained within four hours after a 1” rain
event. Under-drained rain gardens typically are designed to drain
within 2 hours of the design storm event. This is achieved through
the use of highly porous planting media and under-drains which
carry the cleaned rainwater away from the garden. As a result, the
plants selected for the bio-retention cell need to be able to
withstand both the extremes of flooding and drought. Plants on the
upper edges of the garden are often xeric in their cultural
requirement descriptions with plants lower in the garden being more
adapted to floodplain conditions. Many riparian edge species are
particularly well suited to the extreme environments of rain
gardens.
Rain gardens are shaped longer than they are wide and positioned
perpendicular to the slope of the land in order to catch the
maximum amount of rainfall. Rain gardens should be placed at least
10 feet away from building foundations and should not be located
where water ponds for an extended period of time.
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To get credit for this Earthcache, please answer the following
questions in an email. There is a sign at the posted coordinates to
find the answers:
1) Before the rain garden was constructed, what were the effects of
the rain water on the Broad Creek?
2) What 5 organizations made this particular rain garden
possible?
Happy Trails!
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