Did you know that the Springfield Museums have a rain garden on our campus? We do, and you can find it -on the right-hand side of the Kilroy House, across the campus green behind the Blake House Café. The rain garden is a selection of native plants growing around a shallow depression in the ground that’s designed to collect and filter storm water runoff before it might otherwise run into the street.
In Springfield, pollution and debris from storm water runoff eventually enters the Connecticut River and other bodies of water in the city, which is part of the Connecticut River Watershed. A rain garden not only helps prevent pollution from entering our ground water supply, it also prevents water from flooding basements by redirecting water flow away from buildings and homes and into the rain garden depression. Rain gardens can also provide habitat for ecologically important pollinator insects such as bees and butterflies.
Our own rain garden collects water as it drains off the roof of the Kilroy House, into downspouts, and into the garden itself. The entire garden is graded so that the water follows a gradual downward sloping path to a depression in the ground. The garden’s plants, all native to this region, were carefully selected for their ability to hold the soil together while being able to tolerate the wet conditions caused by heavy rains. They are also hardy enough to withstand dry periods and the ups and downs of weather in New England. Although the rain garden plants are very hardy the garden does require some routine maintenance which includes watering and trimming of the plants, weeding the garden, and maintaining the path the water follows to the depression. Our garden’s soil and plants trap and filter the storm water runoff from the roof of the Kilroy House and help prevent it from flowing into Chestnut Street, where it could pick up debris and carry pollution into the storm drain – and eventually into the Connecticut River.
The Springfield Museums’ rain garden is open to the public for viewing. Visitors can see how our rain garden is landscaped and planted while observing pollinators at work collecting pollen and nectar from the flowering native plants thriving in our rain garden.
Daniel Augustino is the Aquarist at the Springfield Science Museum. He can be reached at daugustino@springfieldmuseums.org.
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