Project Rainwater

Project Description 

We installed a rain garden at Draper Park in Hastings-on-Hudson, NY, that includes native plants, decorative features and a permanent educational sign. The work involved 125 hours of student labor, 18 student and adult volunteers, 8 contractors and over $4,100 of materials, including purchases and donations. The project goals are to reduce stormwater runoff, thereby preventing property damage and reducing pollutants in local waters; to support pollinators with native plants; and to educate the public to encourage the installation of additional rain gardens and native plants.

Outputs Produced

• A total of 48 native plants representing 12 different perennial flowers and shrubs

• Four decorative elements (bird bath, pavers, fencing, stone wall) 

• Roughly 2,000 pounds of organic compost and mulch 

• One permanent educational sign

Outcomes 

• As a result of installing the rain garden, there is notably less runoff. In two heavy storms, we saw that the swale worked to divert runoff from the drive into the garden, and that the stormwater was fully absorbed by the garden. 

• As a result of planting a variety of native species, there is increased pollinator activity and habitat for a variety of wildlife. We have seen tons of bees on every plant that was flowering, from joe pyeweed in summer to asters in the fall. There was very limited activity at the site before.

• As a result of the educational sign as well as conversations the team had as they did the project, individuals may become inspired to plant native flowers and shrubs, install rain gardens on their property or start their own community project. Multiple people asked us for names of specific plants, as they would like to plant them in their yards. No one said specifically they were planning to put in a rain garden, but many people asked what the garden was for and were very interested in its benefits and in how it works.

Process

JUNE

1. Conducted research on rain gardens and native plants.

2. Met with Mayor Armacost to discuss locations and helpful contacts.

JULY

3. Scouted sites. Discussed with the Village Manager Murphy and Parks & Recreation Superintendent Podhurst, met at the Hastings Historical Society/Draper Park and agreed on two potential sites.

4. Conducted a soil percolation test to make sure the rain garden would absorb storm water, and measured the angle of the slope to ensure it wasn’t too steep. Both sites were acceptable.

5. Selected a Draper Park site with good drainage that was more visible to the public and had a runoff problem that residents had raised as a serious issue.

6. Researched plants, sketched the garden, updated the plan, and shared with Village for feedback.  

AUGUST

7. Purchased and used a soil test and bought the recommended soil amendments and mulch. Went to Hastings Hardware to discuss mulch and power equipment. The owner suggested buying mulch in bulk elsewhere, and said he was having trouble getting excavators.  

8. Purchased and used a sun test and determined the site largely had > 6 hrs/day of sun.

9. Visited the rain gardens at the O’Hara Center, Irvington Woods, for inspiration.

10. Researched plants and drafted a garden design. Reviewed with Nadine Deghan at Rivertown Plants on what was available, and revised the design. Nadine recommended having contractors do the excavation, as it was dangerous for teens, so we finalized a budget with her to include this work.

11. Engineered the rain garden, including a swale, berms and the dig depths across the garden. Developed a top view design and supplemented with a 3rd-party side view. 

12. Met with the contractors, who did the initial dig and rototill of the garden site.

13. Dug the swale by hand, built up the berm, and dug the garden to the needed depth. The plot was sloped yet the garden needed to be largely flat, so we had to dig and move soil from the top end to the bottom, using a line and level.

14. Amended the soil with fertilizer and lime.

15. Returned the next day to plant 28 plants. A neighbor saw that it was going slowly, and lent two post hole diggers, which were a huge help. A plant knife we got from Hastings Hardware was also quite helpful. Kate Tolson of Seeds on Hudson donated a lot of organic compost, which we mixed with the soil for each plant.   

16. Put down twenty 52-lb bags of mulch to a depth of three inches. 

17. Observed some plants were getting a bit pushed over, so we bought additional fencing and added some plants. Installed fencing with some stone support around the garden, planted 15 more plants on one steep bank, and built a stone wall on the other bank. Spread more stone along the drive, where it had been eroded. 

18. During one watering session, a large SUV sped over the hose, causing it to pull on and rupture the pipe at the Historical Society that holds the hose nozzle. DPW came to turn off the water, which was spraying all over,  and replumbed within a day or so, with a better design to support the pipe. 

19. Purchased a flexible hose and a hose cover for over the driveway to prevent future incidents. 

SEPTEMBER

20. Maintenance over time: watered the plants daily at first, then every few days. Sprayed a couple of the young shrubs with Deer Away. Sprayed Neem oil multiple times due to fungus that was spreading plant-to-plant and removed affected leaves. Removed aphids from the milkweed. Did some minor weeding where there wasn’t mulch. 

21. Drafted the sign design, got feedback from the Historical Society and the Village, and added a sister YCAF rain barrel project to the sign. 

22. Finalized the sign design, materials and posts with Extreme Signs.

OCTOBER

23. Met with Superintendent Podhurst to agree on sign location.

24. Oversaw the installation of the sign. 

25. Bought and planted five more shrubs/plants around the sign.  

Lessons Learned

• People would rather not have teenagers using large power tools.

• It was somewhat difficult to source native plants. We shopped at four places: two were big-box stores with only a couple of options; one was a local nursery with limited but more options (once you found the employee who knew what a native plant was); and fourth, bought from a grower who often offered cultivars as natives, so we had some back-and-forth and had to select carefully.

• To check plants for fungus before accepting/planting them. Several of our plants had fungus and lost a lot of leaves. The fungus spread to other plants and a couple died, but hopefully these will come back next year. We’ll spray with Neem Oil at the beginning of the season. 

• We needed a fence to discourage dogs/people from disturbing the plants. Just a short fence seems to be working well.  

Students Involved

• 2 Project leaders aged 15-24

• 4 Total project participants aged 15-24 (excluding leaders), 

• 6 Project participants aged 15-24 (excluding leaders)

July 17: Devin’s soil percolation tests in 6” hole before selecting one of two approved sites. Both were suitable.

August 18: Initial excavation by contractors with rototiller

August 20-22: Lachlan completing excavation to meet the garden design specification for a 6” deep, flat garden with curved corners and a berm on the driveway side. Digging the swale to divert stormwater.

August 22: Site excavation complete, including spots for shrubs on top and bottom left. Devin watering and putting down lime to correct pH and fertilizer, tamping down ahead of planting day.

October 10: Sign Install

Thank You's

Sincere thanks to Niki Armacost for her ideas and introductions; Natalie Barry and the Hastings Historical Society for feedback and for providing water as plants got established; Haven Colgate for her encouragement and particularly for her detailed input on the educational sign; Nadine Deghan for discounting the plants for the project; Eric Ghalib for direction on sign procurement; Jack Maney for his project support; Lily, Ronan and the Mulcahy Family for their hard labor and loan of tools; Village Manager Mary Beth Murphy for her backing and guidance throughout; Superintendent of Parks Aaron Podhurst for his help and expertise, including but not limited to site selection and sign placement; Valerie Ringel for donating the birdbath; Marcus Tiratsuyan for his coordination and assistance; Kate Tolson of Seeds on Hudson for her advice and for donating many wheelbarrows full of organic compost; the Hastings-on-Hudson Department of Public Works for providing and delivering rocks and for repairing a hose-line break; the dog-owning community of Draper Park for their kind words of appreciation; our parents for donating pavers and manual labor; and Bloomberg Philanthropies for funding this project.