Building on the momentum of last May’s rain garden project in Depot Park, the Clarkston Watershed Group is cultivating new ideas, making plans and seeking funds as spring makes its slow approach.
The group plans to focus the majority of available resources on the park, which serves as a focal point of the community as well as a staging area for many of Clarkston’s traditional evens – summer concerts, art fairs, a local farmers market, and the annual village picnic.
The rain garden, located near the village offices, is a collection of native plants set in the drainage path from the village parking lot to the park Millrace and Clinton River, a design that helps prevent storm water runoff from dumping pollutants into the river.
The garden was funded by a $750 grant from Oakland Native Partnership Initiative. The grant is meant to pay for native plantings and other measures to prevent runoff, as well as encourage public concern for water and shorelines.
Mitigating storm water, said Watershed Group Chair Jim Brueck, is one of the group’s primary functions.
‘For me it’s as simple as the fact that our fresh water needs to be protected,? said Brueck, who is also a member of the Clarkston City Council. ‘It doesn’t just affect us here in this area. It all flows downhill and has an impact on the entire Clinton River Watershed, then flows into Lake St. Clair and into our Great L akes.?
Other related group objectives include illustration of sustainable landscape practices, maintaining or improving the environmental quality that exists, and functioning as an educational model and tool for area residents and schools.
A few of the many possible projects on the horizon include a Children’s Garden; plan to stabilize the river banks and propagate native plants; and a rain garden at Washington and Main.
The Watershed Group is made up of community volunteers interested in maintaining or improving the environmental quality of the Clinton River watershed, including Depot Park and its surrounding areas.
Although the steps are small and sometimes difficult to measure, Brueck said, it is a cause worthy of community attention.
‘It’s like your own health,? he said. ‘If you don’t take care of it, maybe nothing will happen right away, but eventually you’re going to succumb to something.?
This year, the group has also secured the help of students in the Master’s program at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment, who traditionally complete a Master’s project as the capstone of the academic program.
Projects are interdisciplinary problem-solving experiences conducted by groups of students.
Working with the Clarkston Watershed Group, the students will assess existing conditions and develop a Master Plan for Depot Park and other designated areas. The group hopes to implement the plan, though it will likely be a gradual process.
Other plans are also in the works, including the possibility of a cable-TV appearance.
‘We are trying to arrange a joint seminar, in cooperation with the Clinton River Watershed Council and possibly Oakland County,? said Clarkston City Councilman and Watershed Group member Cory Johnston, ‘on environmentally friendly lawn care, water front protection or other related subjects.?
The group has applied for the Wildflower Association of Michigan grant, and is in the process of checking into a number of other grants, as well.