E D U C AT I O N A N D O U T R E A C H
Salem High School Rain Garden Provides Beauty and Protection
“Into each life, some rain must fall” —Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Rain is essential to life on earth, but too much “The hope is that we build more rain gardens at water leads to flooding, which washes pollution the school over the years to come, and we can use into rivers and streams. That’s when you need to them as educational tools with the students,” said take steps to implement, what is known in the Rutgers Water Resource Specialist Chris Obropta. water world, as best management practices. “The whole idea is, we get the next generation In August, Partnership for the Delaware Estuary thinking about stormwater management in a and a team from Rutgers University’s Cooperative different way than the way their parents did.” Extension Water Resources Program engineered Theresa Durham, head of the science and installed a rain garden filled with native plants department at Salem High School, helped at Salem High School. coordinate the school’s project. She and A rain garden engineering teacher Paul Bartholomew is a shallow helped install the garden. Bartholomew basin created said topographical maps show that the to collect school building has sunk over the years, stormwater but the rain garden will help the problem. from roofs, “For PDE, this is a really fantastic parking lots, project to manage water quality and or other hard create new STEM (Science Technology surfaces. This Engineering and Math) opportunities for allows water local students to study how humans and to slowly soak nature interact,” said PDE’s Collaborative into the ground Programs Manager Kate Hutelmyer. rather than “Rain gardens like rushing directly this one mimic the Staff from PDE, Salem High into nearby way nature would waterways like School and the Rutgers University handle rainfall, Extension Water the Salem River. Cooperative which protects Resources Program mix sand and Sandy soils and soil for a rain garden in Salem, our streams and water-loving helps alleviate local New Jersey. plants planted flooding issues. in the garden take pollution out of the It also helps put stormwater as it filters into the ground. water back into the Water that soaks into the Salem High aquifer, which is a School rain garden will help recharge the critical source of Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer, the drinking water drinking water here in South Jersey. And because source to about a million people in southern New the aquifer is connected to the Delaware River, a Jersey. healthy aquifer means a healthier Delaware River Salem High School’s rain garden came about and Bay, which is really important to us.” as part of PDE’s work with the South Jersey PDE gives a huge thanks to Rutgers and Salem Landscape Makeover Project, a collaborative effort High School for their work on the project and the between regional environmental nonprofits funded William Penn Foundation and the National Fish by the William Penn Foundation. The focus of this and Wildlife Foundation for supporting this effort. project is to bring green stormwater techniques Click here to see a video about this project. S to homeowners, municipalities, and school districts throughout South This article relates to the Delaware Estuary Program’s Comprehensive Conservation & Management Plan Jersey. GOAL Improve Public Awareness & Members of the Rutgers University 2 Stakeholder Engagement team also worked directly with Salem High School students to teach STRATEGY Develop and promote programs that engage teachers and schools in them the role of rain gardens in the stewardship of the Delaware Estuary C2.3 environment. PARTNERSHIP FOR THE DELAWARE ESTUARY
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FALL 2020 | VOLUME 30 | ISSUE 4
