Audubon Naturalist Society’s Woodend Sanctuary is Building a Tree Safe Rain Garden

woodend-rain-garden-construction-03If you’ve driven through the Audubon Naturalist Society‘s Woodend Sanctuary this month you’ve probably seen some construction workers, trucks and a fenced off area along the right hand side of the drive. We are very pleased to announce that in our continuing commitment to the environment to keep more stormwater runoff on our own property, that we are building a large TREE SAVE RAIN GARDEN.

A Rain Garden is a sunken or bowl shaped garden that uses sandy soil and native plants to capture runoff and infiltrate it into the ground.woodend-rain-garden-construction-01

By reducing runoff, this Rain Garden will reduce local flooding and help to restore Rock Creek, the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay.  Runoff from two parking lots and a section of driveway – over a third of an acre of pavement – flows into this area.

woodend-rain-garden-construction-02This Rain Garden will slow the runoff down, spread it out, and soak it in. Using fabric tubes to collect runoff in shallow basins, we protect our trees by avoidance of digging in tree root areas.

Typically rain gardens are planted with native plants, shrubs and trees that do well without the use of fertilizers and pesticides. The plants also provide food and habitat for wildlife. Additionally, the plants recycle phosphorus and other nutrients, and the microbes in the soil reduce bacteria levels in runoff. These are just a few of the benefits of installing a rain garden.

We will post more photos as construction develops.

Partners:  Center for Watershed Protection; Environmental Quality Resources; Chesapeake Bay Trust; Montgomery Parks.

Construction Start Date:  September 6, 2016.  End Date:  September 30, 2016.  Contact:  dianecameron60@gmail.com

Funded by:   Chesapeake Bay Trust, EPA Region 3, the Montgomery County Water Quality Protection Fund, the Wallace Genetic Foundation, and the Cornell Douglas Foundation.

Montgomery County Government

Montgomery County Government

Chesapeake Bay Trust

Chesapeake Bay Trust

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