For
many years we have been concerned about the erosion on the steep river bank
of the Chapter House property. Over the years many “experts” have visited
the site offering a variety of suggestions. All of the suggestions had one
piece of advice in common: “Find a way to reduce the amount of runoff water
that reaches the river bank.” Two years ago Hennepin County Environmental
Services provided us with a grant of up to $5,000 to manage surface water
runoff from the Chapter House roof and parking lot. The grant required us to
match at least 25% of that amount and to have the plan approved by Hennepin
County. As of September of 2008 the total cost for the project is slightly
more than $9,000.
Chapter member Larry
LaFontaine owner of “Landscape Pro,” a local landscaping business,
volunteered to oversee this project. He designed a rain garden and series of
berms that would dramatically alter the amount of water reaching the river
bank, turning surface water into groundwater. The project was approved in
April of 2008 and soon after many volunteers began working creating the
large rain garden, grading the parking lot, creating berms to divert surface
water and spreading mulch to protect the thousands of native trees, shrubs
and small plants that were planted in June and July. With the help of an
early watering program the plants have thrived.
Besides the large number of native plants this project required:
·10 cubic yards of river rock
·30 cubic yards of gravel
·60 cubic yards of hardwood mulch
·60 cubic yards of rain garden soil
·108 cubic yards of black dirt
The
project could not have been completed without more than 400 hours of
volunteer time provided by members and friends of the Chapter. The volunteer
time of three members was especially significant: Landscape designer Larry
LaFontaine planned and help facilitate the entire project; Brad Larson and
Dennis Leslie spent many hours with their Bobcats moving huge amounts of
material.
This project has
made a wonderful improvement to the appearance of the Chapter House grounds.
More importantly, it has already demonstrated that it will significantly
deter the runoff and resulting erosion of the river bank.
Home
For
many years we have been concerned about the erosion on the steep river bank
of the Chapter House property. Over the years many “experts” have visited
the site offering a variety of suggestions. All of the suggestions had one
piece of advice in common: “Find a way to reduce the amount of runoff water
that reaches the river bank.” Two years ago Hennepin County Environmental
Services provided us with a grant of up to $5,000 to manage surface water
runoff from the Chapter House roof and parking lot. The grant required us to
match at least 25% of that amount and to have the plan approved by Hennepin
County. As of September of 2008 the total cost for the project is slightly
more than $9,000.
The
project could not have been completed without more than 400 hours of
volunteer time provided by members and friends of the Chapter. The volunteer
time of three members was especially significant: Landscape designer Larry
LaFontaine planned and help facilitate the entire project; Brad Larson and
Dennis Leslie spent many hours with their Bobcats moving huge amounts of
material.
