Take 250 pounds of sand, a dozen hula hoops, several pounds of prairie seed and 60 elementary students pretending they’re bison stampeding through a drainage basin and what do you have?

How about lots of fun and a new home for a rain garden!

Severson Dells, William Charles development and Spectrum School are partnered today on a project to create a rain garden in a storm water detention basin near the Hudson Place Condominiums, a William Charles Development. See the Register Star story by Geri Nikolai.

We planted the rain garden today on the north side of the condos, near the 2600 block of North Main Street. The property was once home to Kmart.

This was a great project before the rain garden. By recycling property in the city, William Charles is helping Rockford grow without gobbling up precious green space. That’s smart growth.

But the rain garden is delicious icing on the project.

Rain gardens are eco-friendly plantings of water-tolerant native plants. They’re normally smaller than drainage basins, most commonly put in wets spots in a home owners lawn. But they work the same. People plant rain gardens them to filter water from their roofs, driveways and lawns so the chemicals, nutrients and other impurities found in runoff. Plants used in rain gardens hold water. Their deep roots allow runoff to be absorbed into the ground, rather than directed to a storm sewer and into a river or creek where it contributes to flooding. You can find information on planting your own rain garden here: Home and Garden Clean Water Practices

Rain gardens also provide habitat for birds, butterflies and other small creatures.

The Hudson Place rain garden covers about a quarter acre. It is a drainage basin for nearby parking lots, rooftops, lawns and streets. Students from Sally Wonder’s and Mary Jo McKenzie’s classes spent the morning planting the seeds.

Here’s how we did it.

We put a dozen hula hoops on areas that were to be planted and put a scoop of seeds mixed in moistened sand in buckets. Students sprinkled the mixture in and around their hula hoop. When they were finished, they did the buffalo stomp, dancing around in their circle to push seeds into the ground like great herds of bison once did in the grasslands. Then the hoops were moved to unplanted areas and the process repeated.

Planting was slow and muddy. And our seed and sand mixture seemed about ready to run out. But then Brian Russart from Winnebago County Soil & Water Conservation arrived with more seeds. Brian hand broadcast seeds in areas that might have been barren. Thanks Brian!

Then in one last stampede, our Spectrum School bison herd ran through the bottom of the muddy basin to pack the seeds into the ground where they will wait until spring to sprout.

This is a really cool project that we hope William Charles can inspire other developers to use native plants on their projects.

Thanks to all participants – especially the bison!

FACT SHEET – Hudson Place Rain Garden

Partnership – This project is collaboration between the non-profit Severson Dells Nature Center, developer William Charles, Spectrum School and other public and parochial schools that can use this area for nature study.

Pilot Project – This planting is a pilot project. Severson Dells hopes it is replicated it throughout the region so drainage basins provide habitat, flood control, maintenance cost savings, environmental protection and natural beauty for folks to enjoy. Illinois is the Prairie State. These plants are our heritage.

The Hudson Place Rain Garden covers about a quarter-acre. The bottom of the basin will be hand-seeded with plants that tolerate moisture. Other areas will be planted with plants that like drier soils.

Education – This site will become a living laboratory for students from nearby schools to learn about native plants and ecosystems. It gives Severson Dells Nature Center a place to do lessons offsite, helping bring nature to students in their own backyard and fulfilling our mission of linking people of all ages to nature.

Flood Control – Rain gardens are collections of native plants with deep roots. They help control storm water runoff by slowing it down and holding it onsite longer. The deep root systems act as a conduit for water, allowing it to be absorbed by the ground instead of being immediately sent to rivers and streams where it can add to flooding. This is extremely important during heavy rains, like those that caused Rockford’s Labor Day floods.

Natural water filter – Native plants act as nature’s kidneys, filtering pollutants in water. They absorb nutrients and other impurities washed off lawns, roads, parking lots, roofs and industrial developments.

Habitat – More than 40 species of grasses and native wildflowers are being planted in the Hudson Place rain garden. A typical drainage basin will have only a few species of grass and weeds. These native plants will provide food and shelter for a wide variety of butterflies, insects and birds.

Eco Friendly – Rain Gardens are low maintenance. They don’t need fertilizers or pesticides. They need several mowings during the first couple of years to control weeds. They may need hand weeding. After that, they need to be mowed once a year, which cuts maintenance costs. Deep roots control erosion.

City of Gardens – The Rockford Park District Foundation has worked extremely hard to beautify the city with colorful plantings. This project enhances their efforts.