Deb Palmer, assistant director for the Marshall County Soil and Water Conservation District appeared before the Plymouth Park Board earlier this month with three requests: creating a rain garden in Centennial Park, conduct a Hoosier Riverwatch Training Workshop in the park and offer a Mini-Watershed Tour in the park.
Palmer told park board members, she received a Clean Water Indiana grant to create a rain garden on a site near the tennis court where the steep bank is eroding into the river. The rain garden would stop that erosion.
While no funds from the park are necessary, Palmer did ask the park to assist with excavating and creating the shape of the rain garden and commit to minimal annual maintenance.
The rain garden will be planted and maintained by M.C. Soil & Water and Purdue Master Gardeners.
The second request is to host a Hoosier Riverwatch Training Workshop to increase public awareness of water quality issues and training volunteers to monitor stream water quality.
Palmer plans to host the workshop on a Saturday using the Yellow River in Centennial Park. Park of the workshop will include having participants wading into the river to collect macroinvertebrates and water samples.
The final request was to allow the Marshall County Soil & Water Conservation District to offer a mini-watershed tour in the park for local residents to get an overview of watersheds and issues affecting watershed health. The 2 to 3 hour event would highlight the recent bank stabilization project, native birds, water quality testing, the flood plain and the newly installed rain garden.
The Plymouth Park Board approved all three requests for Deb Palmer.
