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SALEM TECH CUTS RIBBON ON NEW RAIN GARDEN
Agriculture is about more than farming. It includes aquaculture, research, and water quality analysis, to name a few things.
“There’s a lot of careers that are encapsulated in agricultural sciences,” said Keely DiTizio, the Agricultural Sciences teacher and National FFA Organization advisor at Salem County Career and Technical High School (Salem Tech) in Woodstown, New Jersey. So when her students spent class time last fall creating a rain garden at their school, they weren’t just putting a few flowers and shrubs in the ground. They were getting first-hand knowledge about the importance of native plants in the environment and how rain gardens can help with stormwater runoff, groundwater replenishment, and bird and insect habitat.
Many of the students’ homes in this part of New Jersey use well water, where pumps draw water from the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer. An aquifer is a body of rock or sediment that holds groundwater.
“Having a rain garden that will recharge the Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer under our feet right now is going to be a great thing for not only the water quality, but having more water underground to draw from,” DiTizo said. “As water becomes more scarce in our society, certainly we care about having a sustainable water supply that recharges.”
Last December, students, faculty, and officials of Salem County Vo-Tech joined Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) and representatives from the continued on page 9
The new garden has nearly 400 shrubs and perennials and installing them gives students hands-on experience in planting and agriculture.
PSEG Foundation and DuPont’s Clear into the Future program to cut the ribbon on the newly installed rain garden and sign outside the school.
With help from DiTizio, PDE, Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program, and Davis Lawn and Landscapes, students installed the garden over just a few days in October.
“You folks did something with the partners to beautify the school, and we’re appreciative of your hard work on the project, and it’s something that is going to stay here long after you move on to your next phase in life,” said Superintendent of Schools John R. Swain.
Rain gardens combat flooding and also help filter pollutants from rainwater. They use water-loving native plants and shrubs to absorb excess stormwater and keep it from flooding other areas. The Salem Tech rain garden’s 397 native plants and shrubs will catch stormwater as it washes off the school’s roof, keeping the lawn, parking lot, and nearby streams from flooding while providing critical habitat for pollinators for many bee species, butterflies, birds, and bats.
“When you think about it, one of the core components of what we teach in agricultural education is sustainability and being good caretakers of our environment,” Principal Jason Helder said. “What better way to do that than this project? Obviously, it makes our school looks beautiful, but to know the environmental benefits that are not only happening here on campus but then beyond as we get out into the Delaware Bay area, it’s just awesome.”
PDE’s Engagement Director, John Harrod, explained that the project “is part of a larger stormwater management plan that was developed for the school and with technical support from the Rutgers Cooperative Extension Water Resources Program. This rain garden is a first step, with other elements of the plan that can be implemented in the future.”
This project was made possible through grant funding from the PSEG Foundation and DuPont’s Clear into the Future program. Funding from the PSEG Foundation comes through their Neighborhood Partners Program, which has strategic pillars that include environmental sustainability, social justice, equity, and economic empowerment. DuPont’s Clear into the Future program provides small grants to non-government organizations that must meet specific parameters for qualification, including protecting biodiversity, contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigating the effects of climate change, advancing a circular economy, and promoting water stewardship.
“I’ve worked with Keely for a couple of years now, talking to some of her students about energy choices and the environment, and realized Keely has a passion for the environment and educating her students,” said Brendan Daly, a Principal Environmental Engineer at PSEG Nuclear, located in nearby Hancocks Bridge, NJ. “It just goes to show the power of networking as it started out as just a casual conversation to gauge Keely’s interest in having a rain garden installed, and the next thing you know, PDE was putting in grant applications for the project through both the PSEG Foundation and DuPont Clear Into the Future program. Both applications got approved, and we obviously have the rain garden to show for it now and for years to come.”
“What we really try to look for with Clear into the Future Grants is adherence to our focus areas and close connection to a local DuPont community,” said Mary Reinthal, an Associate Investigator in analytical chemistry at DuPont and Co-Chair for Clear into the Future. “We are proud to support the program because of its positive environmental impact and emphasis on volunteerism. It met everything that we wanted in a grant.”
Students from the school will continue to use this garden installation as a living classroom for years to come.
More photos of the garden installation and ribbon cutting are available at: https://bit.ly/salemraingarden and https://bit.ly/salemribboncutting
