The Ohio University Geography Department will use a $4,948 Ohio EPA education grant to provide the public with information about how rain gardens can be used as stormwater management tools.
The project, which begins in December, is led by Dr. Amy Lynch, Assistant Professor of Geography.
“Green stormwater management strategies like rain gardens protect water quality and prevent localized flooding without the need for additional investment in traditional concrete and steel infrastructure. Cities throughout the country use them, but we have no simple way of understanding their impactm” says Lynch. “Dr. Julio Arauz (ITS) and I are developing digital monitoring devices so that cities like Athens and their residents can easily understand the functionality of their rain gardens.”
The project uses the first low-cost digital sensors designed for rain-garden monitoring to make real-time water quality and quantity information available to the public on an associated website. Educators may use the website and its links to incorporate into their classroom activities from the nationally award-winning curriculum of Project WET.
“The project uses the first digital sensors for rain garden monitoring to make Athens rain garden water quality and flow information available online in real time. Starting late next year, anyone interested in accessing data for the two rain gardens—one at the community center and one at the Code Enforcement Office—can visit those locations for a link to the website and a Quick Response (QR) code. All you have to do is pull out your smart phone and you can see what your friendly neighborhood rain garden is up to,” Lynch says.
The project also will include videos about stormwater, rain gardens and the sensor design and installation process as well as an interpretive sign and posters that explain the function of rain gardens.
The Ohio Environmental Education Fund is administered by Ohio EPA. Eligible grant recipients include environmental groups, public and private schools, colleges and universities, trade or professional organizations, businesses and state and local governments. For additional information, contact the Ohio Environmental Education Fund on the web or at 614-644-2873.
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1972 to consolidate efforts to protect and improve air quality, water quality and waste management in Ohio. Since then, air pollutants dropped by as much as 90 percent; large rivers meeting standards improved from 21 percent to 89 percent; and hundreds of polluting, open dumps were replaced with engineered landfills and an increased emphasis on waste reduction and recycling.
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