Gowanus Canal Conservancy and Trees New York are piloting a training course to teach volunteer stewards how to take care of bioswales, which are curbside rain gardens playing an important role in managing stormwater.
New York City is constructing thousands of bioswales to soak up stormwater that runs off our city streets. Bioswales will reduce the burden on our sewer systems and reduce the combined sewage overflow that discharges into our waterways during many rainstorms. They also provide valuable plant life and habitat and help to beautify our city’s streetscape.
Citizen stewards can help to maintain public green infrastructure, like bioswales, saving tax dollars and empowering community members to become engaged with green spaces and infrastructure.
The Gowanus Canal Conservancy manages this project, with Trees New York serving as the primary consultant and education partner and NYC DEP contributing additional green infrastructure expertise. Drexel University is measuring environmental outcomes through monitoring equipment.
With other U.S. cities installing green infrastructure to manage urban stormwater runoff, this curriculum could be implemented in municipal green infrastructure management plans across the country.
This project was made possible by funding from the U.S. Forest Service and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation