Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / River of Life project helps and beautifies the environment
River of Life project helps and beautifies the environment
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published June 19, 2009
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Kathy Garwood, of St. Daniel Parish; Jim Brueck, co-chair of the Clinton Watershet Group, and George and Lola Koch, of River of Life, work in the gardens last weekend. | Clarkston - Volunteers working at Clarkston's Depot Park Saturday were planting flowers, but it was about more than making the park look nice.
The expansion of the park's rain garden and waterfront garden, as well as the reinforcement of some of the river's banks, was to protect the water - one of our natural resources and God's creation. Lola Koch, a member of St. Daniel Parish and the River of Life, a faith-based environmental organization that encourages each parish promote environmental practices and projects, said this is the fourth year volunteers have worked on the garden in some part.
"It really has evolved so beautifully," Koch said.
Koch estimates the original rain garden was about 10 by 20 feet long, at the edge of a municipal parking lot not far from the city's main street. Where there now is a bed of native plants used to be a ditch carrying all the pollutants from the lot right into the mill stream, which feeds the Clinton River. Last Saturday, volunteers extended the garden off the parking lot another 30 feet.
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Kristin Lukowksi | The Michigan Catholic
Boy Scout Brent Cousino, working with the rest of Troop 189, reinforced banks of the mill stream for his Eagle project. |
Girl Scouts worked on another garden featuring a children's "plant zoo," with native plants named after animals, weaving a fence out of willow branches around the garden. Boy Scout Brent Cousino organized on offshoot project of the gardens, reinforcing the banks of the river where it goes under the road, for his Eagle project.
Cousino, a member of St. Daniel Parish, Clarkston and of Boy Scout Troop 189, worked with the Clarkston Watershed Group to properly reinforce the banks. "It keep chemicals and fertilizer from running off the road, and keeps the river clean," he said.
Sandy Turner, co-Scout leader of Girl Scout Troop 11291, whose girls are going into 10th grade this fall, said because the Scouts are older, they can get more involved in the educational side of it.
Nicole Katlin, a member of Troop 11878, which just bridged to the Cadette level, said the troop eventually wants to make labels for the plants, with pictures of the animals for which they are named. "It's beautiful," Katlin said. "And it helps not pollute the river."
Trish Hennig, who grows, sells and educates about native plants and is a member of St. Anne Parish, Ortonville, was helping to plant and mulch close to the parking lot. She explained that native gardens work because of the plants' deep root systems, which not only slow down the water and filter out impurities, but also look good. "You're really getting a garden that functions in an environmental way, and looks beautiful," she said.
Colleen Schmidt, who designed the layout of the garden and is a member of Christ the Redeemer Parish, Lake Orion, said the garden is much improved from the dying strip of grass where nothing would grow a few years ago. The plants are grouped together based on texture, flower color and progression of bloom.
"We're trying to be stewards of God's green Earth, and take care of it," she said.
Hennig agreed: "The Earth is not there for your use, but something that we take care of," she said.
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