Students will build Syracuse University’s first rain garden on April 10.

Located in the parking lot at the corner of South Crouse and Waverly avenues, the rain garden will provide absorption for storm water runoff from surrounding streets, roofs and buildings. Nicholas Zubin-Stathopoulos, a State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry landscape and architecture graduate student, is spearheading the project and creating it in conjunction with this year’s SU Showcase.

A rain garden is a depression in the ground where water from the surrounding area is absorbed into the garden, providing a natural filter for contaminates in the rainwater. The storm water flows into the rain garden instead of going into the storm drain that leads to Onondaga Creek.

The garden will feature salt-tolerant plants native to Central New York because the university salts the adjacent parking lot in the winter.

The location was chosen partly because of its sloped position and visibility, Zubin-Stathopoulos said.

“The rain garden will be on a small peninsula within Waverly Parking Lot situated on a slope between the upper part and lower part of the parking lot,” he said. “It was chosen partly by its visibility, people cutting through Marshall (Street) and because it had the least amount of utilities cutting underneath it.”

The Waverly Rain Garden will cover 400 square feet and capture nearly 2,000 gallons of water runoff, according to a March 23 SU news release.

The idea for the rain garden came from Rachel May, the faculty adviser for the project and SU’s coordinator of sustainability education, Zubin-Stathopoulos said.

“She thought it would be a good idea to have a rain garden for the SU Showcase because this year the theme is sustainability,” he said.

Once in place, the rain garden will require little maintenance. Watering, trimming and pruning will be kept to a minimum, Zubin-Stathopoulos said. Long-term maintenance may include cleaning out the sediment and replacing some plants. After installation, the grounds crew from the Physical Plant will maintain the garden.

Allison Carey, a junior policy studies major, is in charge of recruiting volunteers to help build the garden. Students can sign up for two-hour shifts on April 10 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. to help with the installation. Roughly 45 students are already signed up, Zubin-Stathopoulos said.

He also said the university has been very helpful in cooperating with the rain garden.

“The university has been very grateful throughout the entire process,” he said. “It’s been great. They have been very corporative, willing to be open-minded and flexible.”

In addition to environmental sustainability, Zubin-Stathopoulos said he hopes the rain garden will be an educational tool for students.

“Hopefully, they’ll be able to work with this rain garden and other rain gardens in the future,” he said.

Published on March 30, 2010 at 12:00 pm