Detention Basin Planting Day


Yesterday, 13 volunteers planted 325 trees and shrubs, as well as native grasses, in 6 stormwater detention basins as part of a township-wide wetland habitat restoration program. As chair of the Andover Township Environmental Commission, this is a project very close to my heart (see http://loisdevries.blogspot.com/2007/09/detention-basins-good-bad-and-ugly.html). Directed by US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Brian Marsh, the project is a joint effort, with the federal Partners in Wildlife program providing the plants and technical assistance and the township providing the labor. Later on, the Township will plant wildflowers and perennials, and install nest boxes and interpretive signs.

The Problem

The purpose of the various types of stormwater basins (detention, retention, and infiltration) is to slow down runoff in areas where development has altered the natural drainage of the land. They are a common sight in residential, industrial, and commercial developments throughout New Jersey. Some older basins are constructed primarily of cobble-sized rip-rap, which is difficult to maintain and becomes overgrown with invasive trees. Others are planted with cold-season grasses, which impairs biodiversity, attracts geese, and requires constant maintenance. The maintenance itself can create problems by causing ruts in the wet bottom of the basin and contaminating the runoff.

The Solution

NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s preferred Best Management Practice for handling stormwater over large areas is the so-called Marsh Meadow Detention Basin, designed to mimic a natural wetland. They are low/no maintenance, eliminate the need for fertilizer and pesticide treatments, act as a visual and physical buffer, control erosion, act as biolfilters, and restore wildlife habitat.

Looking Forward

Andover is encouraging developers to include stormwater gardens at the planning stages of new housing developments as a means of improving water quality, restoring habitat destroyed by construction, and reducing taxes currently used to fund maintenance of the basins.

Thanks to everyone who participated: Brian Marsh, Diane and Fred Gillespie, Sue and Bill Howell, Bob Green, Linda Hubbard, Harvey Hummel, Kathryn Richardson, Peter Spinney, Township Engineer Joe Golden, Mayor Gail Phoebus, and Deputy Mayor Bob Smith.

Popular posts from this blog

Musings on the Relativity of Time and The Arithmetic of Overpopulation

Image
I celebrated my birthday recently. Beyond a certain age, birthdays become a double-edged sword. You’re glad you made it to the next one, but realize that there are far fewer years ahead of you than behind you. The list of absent friends grows ever longer. Colleagues grow grey; everyone else looks like they just graduated from middle school. I used to console myself by calculating that I still had at least 2 5 more years to go, which made the end point seem very far off. But, now that would mean I’d live to an unrealistically old age, a concept supported by neither family history nor actuarial tables. I’m reminded of Einstein’s summary of his Theory of Relativity: "When you are courting a nice girl an hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour." I guess I’ve been having too much fun. But that can’t go on forever. My immortality would not be good for the planet. It’s not sustainable. At the same time that medical advances have
Keep reading

Please Garden Responsibly. Because What You Spray in Your Garden Doesn’t Stay in Your Garden

Image
American Lady caterpillar on licorice plant. Photo: Courtesy Missouri Botanical Garden Scores of their silky tents covered the licorice plant in the container on my porch. Inside the tents, something was gobbling up the leaves faster than I could pick them off. The plant must have been infested when I bought it. As I reached for my organic insecticide, I thought, “Wait, you don’t know what kind of caterpillars these are!” I recalled an article on pest management by a friend who cautioned: “Sometimes, the best treatment is no treatment at all.” It took the better part of the afternoon for me to identify the miniature mowing machines. In the meantime, half of them had started dropping from their perches and wriggling off into the underbrush. I hoped I had made the right decision. The licorice plant was devastated. But then I noticed that the caterpillars had not eaten the leaves all the way down to the stem. Possibly, secondary buds could sprout and still provide a silvery
Keep reading

Arbors: Style and Placement

Image
This is Dan’s first arbor, an earlier version of the one pictured in the previous post. While I’m not crazy about the use of twinkle lights in the garden, here they lent an ethereal air to the forest and served a practical purpose, as well: A night light for the doggy relief area during those late nocturnal and early morning runs. Choosing an arbor that is in harmony with the architectural style of the house and the landscape style of the garden, and siting it appropriately, are crucial to having it integrate well into its surroundings. While budget is an issue for many gardeners, as is not having a live-in arbor-artist, there are still many choices available ready made, or with only “some assembly required.” Smooth, unfussy surfaces and sleek styling go well with contemporary, modern, or mid-century homes; ornate curlicues and botanical themes with cottages, farmhouses, and Victorians. Unpeeled logs or rough-sawn boards are good choices for a rustic look. If you are fortunate
Keep reading