We've weathered the storm

Once the last bands of Hurricane Irene cleared out yesterday, I headed down to the Capitol Riverfront to assess how our garden fared. Weather statements suggested that recently planted trees were at a high risk of being uprooted, so I was mostly concerned about the overall condition of the garden, and with a secondary interest in seeing how well the space captured rain water. National Airport officially received 3.83" of rain on Saturday and Sunday morning, and wind gusts reached up to 60 mph (with sustained winds briefly up to 41 mph).

I'm pleased to report that all the trees are in place, and looking great. The grass has come in nicely around the berms, and it's an attractive space.

The rain garden (swale) sections had all taken on water, with most of them still holding water and the other two quite soft. The plants there haven't taken off quite as well but there is some grass and other greenery growing and keeping the soil porous.

The two rain gardens at the eastern side are still holding onto water longer than they should. We'll assess later this week and work to fix it.

The overall site didn't show any signs of erosion or major runoff into the street and storm drains. That's great news! Some of our remaining materials are still on the paved lot and got blown around. We'll get that cleaned up when we are there later this week.

And as an aside, I also got to take a look at our new sign, identifying the project and giving passersby a quick education about low-impact design, plus information about how to learn more. Thanks to Signs By Tomorrow in Springfield, Virginia, for the great work, and Norcross Wildlife Foundation for financial support.

We want to give you a tour too! Email dcchapter@surfrider.org to schedule one for your group.

Did any neighbors observe anything at the garden during the storm? Tell us what you saw in the comments.

June 25: Work Day Report

Last Saturday we made significant progress in the garden. Another 30 folks came out to help--including Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells, who paid a visit en route to his Ward 6 Family Fun Day at the Yards Park. Alicia Aleman got some video of the councilmember hard at work:

Since the trees and grass seed were planted at our first work day, Saturday's focus was on the swales, which were doing their job too well and holding on to the rain water. First we mixed in some sand to make the soil more porous. Then we leveled everything out to try to prevent puddling at the ends.

Brian Dalton mixes sand into a swale.

Meanwhile other volunteers laid rocks around the edges of the mounds. It really helped tie things together aesthetically, but really the rocks are there to hold filter fabric in place under the gravel walkways. Two birds with one (or a few hundred) stones, if you will.

Then we split into teams and laid the filter fabric along the walkways, and covered it with gravel. The existing surface of the site is rock, broken concrete and brick, and miscellaneous material. It's not easy to walk on, or very pretty to look at, hence the gravel over top. But if we just put the gravel straight on, it would sift to the bottom and the larger ugly material would rise to the top--think of a box of cereal.

ANC commish David Garber orders Councilmember Wells around.

We got partway through installing the walkways before calling it a day. But there is still work to be done! Please join us this Thursday evening, from 5 to 8 pm, as we finish up these walkways and tidy up. We hope to toast our accomplishment with celebratory food. If you can help, with a pizza donation, a grill, or in another way, please let us know!

A Note About the Maintenance

Some of the trees are looking pretty sad, we know. It's been hot and dry, especially the first week after they were planted (the most critical time). Surfrider has hired Chapel Valley to water everything three times a week, and at last check we think 4 of the 5 damaged trees will bounce back. We're keeping an eye on the fifth one, and may remove it or replace it.

The grass on the berms is coming in nicely, and the swales will be planted with wildflower seed mix this week. Those should both need little maintenance apart from watering.

It is a little ironic to hire a watering company for a rain garden. Typical DC summer weather--with regular afternoon thunderstorms--will hopefully return soon and take care of things for us. If you're in the neighborhood and have any questions or concerns about how things are looking, please feel free to email us.