Peaks View Park Rain Garden EarthCache
Peaks View Park Rain Garden
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The Blackwater Creek Watershed is part of the James River Watershed. This project was part of the Extreme Stream Watershed Program in 2009.
Park Open Dawn to Dusk......
When rain falls, it washes over roofs, driveways and other impervious surfaces. If rain water runoff isn’t managed properly, it can wash dirt, nutrients, oil and chemicals into rivers, streams and groundwater. A rain garden filters pollutants as water soaks into the ground, also replenishing groundwater. This helps reduce flooding and erosion in streams, keeps sewers from backing up into basements, and reduces combined sewer overflows. Rain gardens can also provide habitat for birds, butterflies, and beneficial insects, such as honey bees.
Plants are important living feature of rain gardens. They filter pollutants and keep soil in place. Plant root systems loosen soil and improve drainage. They stimulate biological activity that helps the soil break down pollutants and increase runoff infiltration and retention. There are a wide variety of native plants that resist disease and provide wildlife habitat. Plants are chosen to be suitable for the different water levels of the rain garden. In the bottom two thirds, Wetland rushes and sedges plants are used that can tolerate a lot of water. Upland plants that need less water will do well in the upper one third. Red twig dogwood, inkberry holly and Joe Pye weed are common plants that will thrive in this level of the garden.
Water from the rain garden is either completely absorbed or in times of heavy rain it exits the garden through a riparian buffer into the nearby Ivy Creek. A riparian buffer is a vegetated area (a "buffer strip") near a stream, usually forested, which helps shade and partially protect a stream from the impact of adjacent land uses. It plays a key role in increasing water quality in associated streams, rivers, and lakes, thus providing environmental benefits. With the decline of many aquatic ecosystems due to agricultural production, riparian buffers have become a very common conservation practice aimed at increasing water quality and reducing pollution.
In order to log this earthcache.....Please email your answers to the following questions to me(Do Not post answers in your log or it will be deleted) Feel free to go ahead and log the cache prior to the email :)
1. What is the size of the Blackwater Creek watershed in acres listed on the information sign? What is the last body of water that it will empty into before the Atlantic Ocean
2. How many native plants are listed on the information sign that were used in the rain garden?
3. Storm water run off exits the rain garden to the north through a portion of the riparian buffer. What other natural resource has been placed there to slow down the water flow, to help control erosion?
4. Please post a picture of you, your group or GPS with the garden in the background.......(Optional)
Thank you for visiting Peaks View Park.....Hope you learned a little more about what is being done to protect our environment!!!!!
References:
1. James River Association
2. Center for Watershed Protection
3. Wikipedia
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