April EarthCare Update

This year’s March weather seemed to anticipate April’s slogan, “April showers bring May flowers.” Last month, we were often drenched and taken by surprise by cloudy skies that opened suddenly and gave way to downpours. At the IHM Center, we’re fortunate that over the years our EarthCARE committee, volunteers, and friends had the foresight to create multiple rain gardens on the IHM Land Plan. We’re deeply grateful to McClain and Associates, especially Paul Bechtel, for their role in guiding the project and walking with us.

A rain garden is a garden of native shrubs, perennials, and flowers planted in a small depression, which is generally formed on a natural slope. Designed to temporarily hold and soak in rain water runoff that flows from roofs, driveways, or lawns, rain gardens are effective in removing up to 90% of nutrients and chemicals and up to 80% of sediment from the rainwater runoff.

Every time it rains, water runs off impermeable surfaces, collecting pollutants such as fertilizer, chemicals, oil, garbage, and bacteria along the way. The pollutant-laden water enters storm drains untreated and flows directly into nearby streams and ponds. The US EPA estimates that pollutants carried by rainwater runoff account for 70% of all water pollution.

The benefits of a rain garden are many, including:
*improving water quality by filtering out pollutants
*preserving native vegetation
*providing localized stormwater and flood control
*attracting beneficial birds, butterflies and insects

We know that the effects of rain gardens are many and far reaching. EarthCARE member Jan Novotka notes that the landscape design on our IHM land was planned to facilitate the catchment of rain water and to feed it back into the mouth of Meadow Brook, which then feeds into the Lackawanna River, and ultimately back into the sea.

So we see that creating a rain garden is an act of love for our Earth and a significant way to show compassion and care for our planet beyond the borders of our own backyard.