WORTHINGTON -- With help from the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and other entities, Worthington Middle School will do its part to help clean up Earth by watching it rain.
Construction is under way on a 100-foot-diameter rain garden on the school grounds that will filter and reduce runoff and grow some healthy plants.
A rain garden is a perennial planting designed to capture and use rain water that may otherwise run off. The garden is in a shallow depression, but is not a wetland. Because the water captured in rain gardens should filter through within a day or so, they do not become a breeding ground for mosquitoes -- a common concern for those considering planting them.
Rain gardens are being planted all over Worthington, with two more at Minnesota West Community and Technical College, one at Vogt Park and two at the Nobles County Highway Department.
Worthington Excavating is currently working at the middle school and hoping to finish this week, according to NRCS District Conservationalist Steve Woltjer. After the dirt is dug out, the hole will be filled with a combination of compost and sand. Mulch will go on top, along with perennial trees.
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After a rain, the runoff from the track and school that comes from outlets' drains will flow right through the garden, an area that currently is wet and not mowed. The rain will filter through the sand.
"It will have a much better water quality on the other end," Woltjer explained. "A lot of the groundwater around here ends up in Lake Okabena -- this is a tool that can help."
A rain garden should be established in an area able to intercept runoff from roofs, yards, driveways or streets.
The funding for the project comes in part from U.S. Fish and Wildlife's Partner in Wildlife Project. Schaap Sanitation is donating the humus and mulch; the trees for the project were purchased by FFA, and the technical assistance comes from NRCS.
Woltjer said some middle school students will plant the trees, which include three kinds of willows, cranberry bushes and dogwoods.
"And (the students) will watch to see how the plants suit the site," he added.
The planting process should take place within the next three weeks. Woltjer said there may be an opportunity for more rain gardens on the middle school grounds in the future.
A tour of some of the new rain gardens may take place during the summer months, Woltjer believes, but nothing has been finalized.
