Friday, June 13, 2008
A rain garden will open north of the Student Recreation Fitness Center in the fall to soak up storm water to prevent flooding.
Studie Red Corn, 2008 graduate, started the project through the campus organization Emerging Green Builders.
The 5,000-square-foot rain garden will cost about $40,000. Jeff Severin, director of the KU Center for Sustainability, said the Kansas Department of Health and Environment recently approved a $20,000 grant for the project because of its educational value. Student Senate provided an additional $15,000. The recreation center will cover the rest of the cost.
Red Corn, who earned a degree in civil engineering, said the rain garden was an unconventional way to manage storm water. The slope of the garden will trap storm water and prevent flooding around the recreation center. Pipes on the roof of the building will direct rain into the garden.
Once the construction of its base and irrigation are completed, the Emerging Green Builders will plant native flowers and grasses such as iris, sunflower, milkweed and lobelia. Neil Steiner, Tulsa, Okla., senior, worked on the project with Red Corn as an Emerging Green Builders member. Steiner said native plants would grow better in the climate and create deeper and larger root systems than non-native plants. He said this would allow the plants to handle floods and droughts better. The roots will filter out dirt and chemicals and improve water quality.
“They require a lot less maintenance,” Steiner said. “You leave in perennials so they keep coming back every year.”
Different flowers will bloom each season in the garden. A limestone walkway will provide a path for students wanting to take a closer look at the garden.
Severin said the rain garden would offer an opportunity for students and the community to learn about Kansas plants and nature. He said the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s grant required the University to organize a workshop to educate the public about the roles and environmental benefits of the rain garden.
“It’ll be one of the first major examples of how we can use native landscapes effectively,” Severin said. “The educational benefits will be huge, showing people what’s possible.”
The recreation center is currently expanding its facility. Mary Chappell, director of recreation services, said the rain garden was not originally a plan of the expansion.
“I said, ‘Yes, we need to do this,’ because it was a student project,” Chappell said. “I think it’s going to be a wonderful, wonderful addition to the area.”
— Edited by Case Keefer
Students help plant rain garden
Participants are volunteering to create the garden by the recreation center to ...
Energy Fair offers conservation tips, information
The KU Energy Fair will take place from 11 a.m. to p.m. ...
Rain garden could save water
The garden provides a place for rainwater to permeate the ground rather ...
Rain garden completed on Earth Day
More than 200 volunteers plant 2,500 native Kansas plants.
Senate notebook: February 28, 2008
Notes from the Feb. 28, 2008 Student Senate meeting.
Taking out the bloom
Every year in April, Facilities Operations has to uproot the tulips, an ...
Rec center addition to be dedicated today
New spaces include golf simulator, extension of running track and more rooms ...
Students help minimize damage in rec center ...
Students made make-shift levee to lessen flood damage to The Rec Center.
Floor of rec center’s rock wall to ...
Work will begin Friday to repair the floor, which was damaged by ...
Two students design rain garden at Zarco ...
The garden has native plants as part of its water conservation system ...
Recreation center roof leaking
Students promote campus sustainability
During Campus Sustainability Day Wednesday, students talked about ways to reserve resources ...
Parched future of the plains
A warming climate is adversely affecting animals native to Kansas and the ...
Reduce, reuse, relocate
Potter Lake Unplugged entertains and educates in the Kansas Union instead of ...
New garden to bring beauty and health
The School of Pharmacy copied a medicinal garden from the 1920s, but ...
A garden grows
Student groups team up for environment
From Blue to Green, a sustainability movement, will host events between now ...
Wood-chip sale encourages recycling
The Lawrence Parks and Recreation held its annual wood-chip sale last week ...
Eco-friendly student seeks changes
Studie Red Corn, regional director of the environmental group 2020 Vision, stays ...
Pest controlling bugs earn mixed reviews
Lawrence officials released 18,000 ladybugs in Lawrence to help control a growing ...
‘Green space’ on campus is endangered
Marvin Grove, other natural icons at the University threatened because of weather, ...
Students revitalize campus with a garden
Student group, E.A.R.T.H., plants vegetables behind the University Relations building for donation ...
KU Environs to lead an Earth Day ...
Eco-friendly festivities will aim to increase knowledge of sustainability and its benefits.
Stopping to smell the roses
Landscaping around campus requires careful planning, budgeting and man power.
Thieves target unattended rec center items
Thirty percent of all campus crimes this semester have occurred at the ...
Student Rec Center nears completion
The University rec center is being renovated to keep up with national ...
Lawrence's landlord: a developer's story
Doug Compton, owner of First Management, has helped guide Lawrence's development for ...
Cross country tour celebrates bio-diversity
First of its kind 'green certified' bus stops in Lawrence on national ...
Organic garden to provide food for families ...
Habitats assist monarchs
Rec center expansion delayed
The four multi-purpose courts, an expanded 2,000-square foot free-weight area and two ...
Green campus groups educate students
Many opportunities exist at KU to get involved with environmental groups and ...
Local Burger and Co-op collect rain
Ad Astra Student Co-op helps restaurant install a rain barrel.
Research program prepares for medicinal herb garden
Native Medicinal Plant Research Program will begin working on the new garden ...
KU receives C+ in sustainability efforts
Sustainable Endowments Institute evaluated the 332 colleges on their green efforts.
Aquifer numbers down in recent survey
The increase in corn crops in Kansas has lead to decreasing aquifers. ...
Completion of renovations delayed
Addition, originally scheduled to be completed by spring, pushed backed due to ...
International students grow a taste of home
Residents are planting fruits and vegetables from their native countries in Stouffer ...
Student Recreation Fitness Center addition to open ...
The add-on will feature a virtual golf simulator, martial arts studio, four ...
From left: Kimberlee Hinkle, Libby Johnson and Hannah ...
1 comment
Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
Lecture from Greg Mortenson, co-author of New York ...
0 comments
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID