The History of the Project

The Players

In 2009, the Surfrider Foundation's DC Chapter conceived a project, a temporary rain garden to capture water before it ran into the Anacostia River and to educate people about watersheds, water pollution, and ways that homeowners and businesses can reduce stormwater runoff on their own properties. Eric Siegel of Cohen Companies was immediately supportive and made it possible for us to locate the garden on space next to the Velocity Condos in Southeast DC, just a couple of short blocks from Nationals Park and the Anacostia River.

REI---through a nomination by the College Park, Maryland, store--provided a very generous grant to fund the project, and Norcross Wildlife Foundation provided additional funds.

Surfrider members are a diverse crew, and among our chapter's talent pool was Justin Thorn, a landscape architect who had recently moved back to DC from California. Hearing about this project, he stepped up and offered his design services and tremendous project management expertise, along with the counsel and assistance of his firm, EcoSolutions.

The project has been spearheaded by chapter leaders Julie Lawson and JD Krohn.

The Location

The garden is located at L and Half Streets SE, in the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood of Washington, DC. The neighborhood is home to Nationals Park, and new buildings are popping up, bringing new residents, businesses, and life to the western bank of the Anacostia River.

The garden site is slated for construction in the coming years, but has been sitting empty next to the Velocity condo building. The surface, mostly construction debris and rock, doesn't allow for rain water to permeate. The empty space also does little for the neighborhood.

Our goal is to reduce the runoff at the site and create a neighborhood asset in green space and an educational forum. As the site is slated for future construction, the garden is temporary at this location; we hope to move it when the time comes.

The Design

The garden is not quite 5,000 square feet, in concentric circles of trees, planted swales, and gravel walkways. From above (for the lucky residents of Velocity who can see it), it's a ripple, a wonderful metaphor for our volunteers.

The Memory

The garden is named for dedicated Surfrider volunteer David Stemper, who passed away July 3, 2010, while playing basketball with friends at American University. David was involved in virtually every facet of the organization, attending cleanups and social events, teaching students, and volunteering at every request. In fact, he wrote the bulk of the proposal which won us the grant to build this garden. He genuinely loved Surfrider, and we benefited greatly from his passion, enthusiasm, and talents.

Dedicating this garden to him is just a small gesture to show our appreciation.

To learn more about David from the words of his friends, visit this memorial page in his honor.