Another Way for Residents to Retain Their Rain

Late September found Norfolk Master Gardeners working with other volunteers in support of Margaret Epes with the city’s Office of Resilience. Last May, we helped to install a demonstration site of native plants at a highly visible intersection in Chesterfield Heights, a neighborhood bordering the Elizabeth River where many curbside verges have been replaced by 18-inch-deep bioswales. For all you future Water Stewards, a bioswale is simply a channel created to transport stormwater runoff from streets – in this case, the thickly-planted shallow ditch also captures litter and pollutants, keeping them out of the waterway.



The recent Chesterfield Heights bioretention planting day was round two for this bioswale. It shows how stormwater runoff can be managed using attractive native plants and serves as a demonstration site for the whole community. The first two photos show the original planting, which we helped install last May. That section was unfortunately mowed by the contractors who are supposed to maintain these bioswales. Most of the plants survived, and even managed to bloom!