Nicodemus Wilderness Project -- Global Registry of Apprentice Ecologists

My project was building a rain garden next to the pump house of the Jeffers Hill Community Center pool. A rain garden is a garden that is made up of sand, compost, and plants that absorbs runoff water from hard surfaces like roofs, sidewalks, and driveways. My rain garden had a pipe running into it that was connected to two downspouts on the back of the pump house. These downspouts normally allowed rain garden to just run off down the hill and erode away the ground, but now it is being retained and filtered by this rain garden. The rain garden provides something aesthetically pleasing in addition to its functionality. In the rain garden, I used 50 plants of three different types (cardinal flower, turtlehead, and NY Ironweed) that are tolerant of a very large or a very small amount of rainfall. Because it was done in October, the rain garden has not had a lot of chance to grow or attract animals. However, pollinators and butterflies tend to be attracted to these types of plants, so in the spring when the plants bloom, this garden will be very attractive.

My rain garden accomplished not only the task of being the first rain garden in Columbia, but also of helping our entire ecosystem. Though it is only a very small 150 square feet, this rain garden will filter the water it retains and recharge the ground water and keep polluted water from reaching the Chesapeake Bay.

My Environmental Stewardship project was a little more difficult than I thought with getting appropriate approvals and writing up initial plans, but it was really fun when the volunteers and I got out there and started working. Each weekend I went out, I couldn't wait to see what the completed rain garden would look like. The volunteers all had a good time helping me and seemed equally pleased with the results.

In terms of the environmental issues being addressed by the rain garden (erosion and polluted water), I think that rain gardens may be the way to go to solve the problem. Because humans have build a lot of impermeable surfaces, it is difficult for the water from rain to find somewhere to seep into the ground. Rain gardens can help reduce the amount of water that either runs off or just pools up in an area. I believe that there have been other successful rain gardens much larger than mine that have been used to absorb all the runoff from parking lots.

The area where I conducted my project actually does not need a whole lot of taking care of. Rain gardens are self sustaining and generally don't require a whole lot maintenance after about a year. Of course, the plants need to be able to grow without being damaged or destroyed to get to this point. Allowing the garden to get to that point will allow it to continue to function as desired and continue to retain and clean the runoff water.

As far as the Apprentice Ecologist Initiative goes, I just have to say that it's doable. Making a difference for your environment is definitely possible despite the seemingly daunting task. Little things like rain gardens can make a large difference over time with just a little bit of effort.