Princess Point Rain Garden EarthCache

Welcome to the Princess Point Rain Garden Earthcache. Please read logging requirements as set out below in order to log a find. Please send me an email with the required information, and do not post any answers in your log. Pictures are always encouraged, however, be sure that they do not give away any of the answers! Parking has been waypointed. If you plan on being in this area for any extended length of time, make sure you that pay and display so you won't get a ticket. The posted coordinates bring you to a rain garden that was created by the Bay Area Restoration Council in 2014. 

When rain falls on natural areas such as a forest or meadow, it is slowed down, filtered by soil and plants, and allowed to soak back into the ground to recharge groundwater resources. When rain falls on impervious surfaces such as rooftops, roads, parking lots and driveways, rain does not soak into the ground and storm water runoff is created. Stormwater runoff picks up pollution such as fertilizer, pesticides, sediment, motor oil, litter, pet and yard waste. In many areas, stormwater runoff does not go to a treatment plant. Instead, water and the pollution in it flows directly into storm drains, which eventually can deliver these pollutants to bodies of water.

Rain gardens are attractive, functional landscaped areas designed to capture and filter stormwater before it runs off into storm drains. They collect water in natural or constructed shallow vegetated depressions and allow it to soak into the ground slowly. This reduces the potential for erosion and minimizes the amount of pollutants flowing from a yard into a storm drain, and ultimately into our waterways. They may also be used as a buffer in shoreline areas to capture runoff from the home landscape before it enters a lake, pond, river or estuary. Rain gardens use the concept of bioretention, a water quality practice in which plants and soils filter pollutants from stormwater.

By reducing stormwater runoff, rain gardens can be a valuable tool to help protect our water resources. While an individual rain garden may seem like a small thing, collectively they produce substantial neighborhood and community environmental benefits. By capturing runoff in shallow depressions and letting it soak into the ground, rainwater gardens also help recharge stores of groundwater in aquifers. Moreover, they filter out sediment and other pollutants by catching close to the first inch of runoff, which contains the highest concentration of pollutants. Rain gardens transform stormwater from a destructive carrier of pollution into a source of sustenance for plant and wildlife habitats: the plants thrive on nitrogen and phosphorus that is picked up, while their stems trap sediment. Rainwater gardens are being incorporated into many new and existing areas for their environmental benefits, as well as their natural beauty.

A rain garden resembles a regular perennial garden or mixed border in many ways. It is designed with deep-rooted plants that come back year after year; it is pretty to look at; it often has lovely flowers, grasses, trees and shrubs. So what makes it different from any other perennial garden? There are certain qualities that make a rain garden unique:

• Rain gardens have a ponding area, but they are not ponds. They often are planted with wetland plants, but they are not wetlands (although you can design a rain garden that mimics a wetland).
• The garden absorbs and filters rain that would otherwise run off your property and down the storm drain.
• Many of the plants in the garden might be native to the region and have extensive deep roots that help the garden absorb rain. The native plants do not need special attention once they are established. Non-native plants may be used as long as they are also non-invasive and pest free.
• There is a bowl-shaped dip in the garden, which holds the rain while it soaks into the soil.
• The garden bed is prepared or sometimes replaced to a depth of up to two feet in order to relieve soil compaction and make the garden able to absorb water.

A garden that does not have rain directed into it from a hard surface will still be a valuable asset. However, unless stormwater runoff is directed into the garden, it is not a rain garden. In addition to reducing and filtering stormwater runoff and increasing groundwater recharge, rain gardens provide many other benefits. They provide habitat for wildlife and, with the proper selection of plants, increase the number and diversity of birds and butterflies for those who enjoy watching them.
 

In order to log this earthcache, please email me the answers to the following questions:

1. What is the approximate size of this rain garden? What are two types of native plants that are showcased here?

2. What are three benefits of this particular rain garden for Cootes Paradise?

3. What are three things that you can do to help reduce stormwater runoff and improve water quality?

4. Take a picture of yourself or an object of yours at GZ with the boat launch behind you.

Congratulations to Spike64 on the FTF!