On a recent sunny Saturday, Environmental Services staff joined other volunteers with Depave and Saints Peter and Paul Episcopal Church to bust up and remove part of the church parking lot to make space for a rain garden. The group also removed invasive English ivy to clear the way for trees and native landscaping. The volunteer turnout was great – a young boy even helped with a mini wheelbarrow.

BES Watershed Manager Paul Ketcham works with other volunteers to expose soil for future planting.

BES Stormwater Specialist Danny Kapsch provides technical assistance to groups for rainwater retrofits like this during his regular job. He rolled up his sleeves on the weekend to wrangle no-longer-needed asphalt that other volunteers hauled to a dumpster.

Community actions like this help reduce pollution to the Willamette River and allow rain to soak into the ground, rather than flowing into sewers. They also add benefits to the neighborhood like shade and cooling in hot weather, and habitat for native birds and pollinators. Learn more about this project at http://depave.org/spp/. 

There will be a planting party on October 24 to create the rain garden and native plant areas. Come on out, and invite your friends! Find more details and sign up for that event here.

This project is funded by a Community Watershed Stewardship Program (CWSP) Grant.

Check out more photos from the depaving event on Depave’s Google+ album.