Local residents turn Prospect Park wetland into rain garden

Wednesday, October 8, 2008 | Source: Concentrate

A small group of people is (surprise, surprise) making a big impact on Ypsilanti's Prospect Park.

A group of local residents near the park turned what had become a watered down bog into a rain garden, promising to greatly improve the area's aesthetics. The park, on the corner of Grove and Prospect streets near Adams Elementary School, has been around for decades.

Inside the park is what is called "Luna Lake", a pond with a water fountain in the middle of it. Over the years the fountain and pond fell into disrepair, becoming a stagnant swamp, complete with invasive plants and rampant insects.

Enough was enough for local residents when they banded together to this summer to do something about the problem. The group transformed the bog into a rain garden, using money from the Wildflower Association of Michigan and the Historic Eastside Neighborhood Association. Luna Lake now boasts native plants and more efficient storm-water management.

"It should be a really pretty space," says Teresa Gillotti, an Ypsilanti resident and Michigan State University Extension employee.

A rain garden uses plants such as perennials, shrubs and trees to soak up the rainwater that pools there. It also filters that water and helps reduce storm-water runoff problems.

The volunteers have already pulled most of the weeds and cleared the brush from Luna Lake earlier this summer. This month they will begin planting the flowers, trees and shrubs that will finish off the project. A planting session will be held between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday.

For information on the project, contact Rachel Blistein at rachel@veris-design.com or (734) 485-3990.

Source: Teresa Gillotti, Ypsilanti resident and Michigan State University Extension employee
Writer: Jon Zemke