19 Jul
Riverside, Illinois is hosting FRED, in honor of Frederick Law Olmsted. The RIVERS Project is a collaboration with among Lupfer Landscaping, Dig Right In Landscaping, Semiramis Studio, and Aquascapes. We are offering to address residents’ flooding problems with installation work culminating in a green infrastructure extreme build and education event August 16-18! Contact the number on the postcard above if you are intersted in attending or addressing your flooding problem. Exciting!
20 Jun
The Rain Garden was installed last fall, and topped with pine fines mulch for the winter. This spring, we refined the grading and removed most of the mulch for use in other areas.
The soil at this site is extremely sandy, so standing water will be rare. We installed native sedges in the lowest areas of the swale, and they should hold the sandy soil quite well.
Over the next few months, as the plants establish, we’ll introduce the downspout water.
17 Mar
Solving drainage problems, increasing groundwater recharge, eliminating run-off to sewers, and enhancing the curb appeal……!
It is time to put in some raingardens!!!
This garden was installed last fall in association with the Center for Neighborhood Technology.
8 Nov
This is the beginning of a larger effort to initiate educational programming at the CNT garden on Western Avenue. Check it out!
30 Sep
Getting Ready for Water…….
The Raingarden Conveyance Channel is being lined with river rocks. The water from the roof will be piped to this lined channel, then will travel to the raingarden basin. The conveyance channel is steeply pitched away from the building to encourage the water to travel away from the building. The Channel is also lined with a geotextile fabric to reduce the ability of water to percolate into the soil and gravel along the building foundation. The river rock lining holds the fabric and looks nice.
Getting Ready for Plants…….
Final grading was performed by raking the planting soil and sculpting it to the final grades. The planting areas were marked with inverted spray paint. Native plant plugs will be installed by volunteers. Pictures of the site planted are coming soon….
4 Aug
Please check out the Studio’s exciting project at the Center for Neighborhood Technology’s website.
In addition to the raingarden, the garden also showcases materials re-use and re-purpose. CNT was able to purchase used lumber from the ReBuilding Exchange for the pergola, tables, and benches.
Construction is scheduled for the end of the month. More pictures to follow as work continues!
23 Jul
Raingardens and Right-of-Way stormwater gardens slow and hold stormwater so that it has a chance to percolate into the soil. If the water is slowed and held, and if the soil is permeable and planted with the right plants, this valuable water can recharge our groundwater.
6.91 inches last night at O’Hare…..
Water is a resource.
6 Jul
Getting the water from the downspout to the raingarden will require a lined runnel. Seems like an old piece of steel culvert sliced lengthwise will do the trick here.
