2013 Sustainable Water Tours

Page 1

Strawberry Creek-- TGIF Grant for Sustainable Water Infrastructure Campus Tours The tour will feature new sustainable infrastructure around campus, such as Boalt Hall’s unique rainwater harvesting system. In using rainwater, harmful polluntants found in potable water are reduced and do not threaten the creek.

Older, yet still successful infrastructure created at the start of Strawberry Creek’s restoration will also be highlighted. Such as the Redwood Cribwall, which provides an effective solution to bank stabilization and protection, while also providing habitat for native plant and animal species.

y C reek r

w ber

Another feature that will be included is the variety of sustainable bike parking around campus that are packed with mulch, soil, bark chips or other materials that allow water to trickle through into the ground, rather than running over the surface.

a r t

S

This TGIf Grant goes toward creating a self-guided walking tour of Strawberry Creek that highlights sustainable water infrastructure on the UC Berkeley Campus. The brochure will include new material about water infrastructure on campus, innovative design features that treat and/or detain runoff, and campus ecological restoration projects that maintain creek water quality as well as provide habitat for native plants and animals. The new tour will be available online on the Strawberry Creek website (strawberrycreek.berkeley.edu). Tim Pine, an Environmental Specialist for UCB’s Office of Environment and Safety will also publish the material in a printed booklet that will be available in the Berkeley Water Center, for class use,and for campus tours.

Public outreach will shed light on seemingly ordinary spaces around campus, such as the Wellman Parking Lot. At first glance, this may look like a regular parking lot, but the Wellman Parking Lot is specially designed to catch storm water and remove pollutants.

Lesser-known “greening projects” such as the roof garden on top of the Li Ka Shing building will also be covered on the tour, representing UC Berkeley as a leader in sustainable technology.

A major goal of this project is to bring attention to sustainable landscaping around the campus, such as this seasonal storm water detention pond in front of the VLSB. This pond is the last piece in a full bio-filtration system that prevents runoff from moving into the creek untreated.

Strawberry Creek provides an excellent outdoor classroom for teaching and learning about natural systems in urban water infrastructure. This newly established publication will add to the already existing materials on the creek such as those seen to the right, increasing the transparency of knowledge about the creek to the wider public.

ReNUWIt

Nicole Kush and Sasha Harris-Lovett


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.