City Trees is a premier publication focused on urban + community forestry. In each issue, you’ll learn how to best manage the trees in your community and more!
Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/30662
New bioinfiltration garden in action during heavy November rains at St. Francis Court Apartments in South Fairmount, Cincinnati. Photo Courtesy Cincinnati Park Board hillside and upper parking lot. Water is captured and slowed to infiltrate instead of reaching the combined sewer. Shade trees were planted on the hillside and the front parking lot. A handicap-friendly walking path and two community gardens were created for the residents’ use. The other completed project is at Immanuel Church. Water from the large building’s downspouts is directed to a bioswale to filter, absorb, and hold water before it reaches the storm sewers in the streets. Trees are a cost effective solution to reducing storm- water runoff and improving stormwater quality. Studies such as that of the urban tree canopy allow cities to calculate those benefits, communicate them, and to leverage dollars for reforestation projects. —Dave Gamstetter, Natural Resource Manager, Cincinnati Park Board, and Dave Boutelle, Supervisor, Public Greenspace Program, Cincinnati Park Board, Cincinnati, Ohio Bioswales and raingardens are a relatively new concept for us. Like other cities, Upper Arlington, Ohio is working to adopt greener standards and retro- fit our suburb to comply with modern federal and EPA standards for stormwater management. At present, six of our newest gardens (over 20,600 sq. ft/1913.8 sq m) are EPA mandated raingardens. More are expected as future redevelopment triggers additional stormwater treatment requirements. Adopting these principles has been a methodical pro- 36 cess by design. Plant selection and planning should focus on tough low maintenance species that can toler- ate brief periods of inundation but also survive extended dry spells. Proper garden installation is critical for suc- cessful drainage and filtration. Additionally, our greatest concern is always long-term maintenance. Installation is the birth of any garden, and its success depends on how well it’s maintained for a lifetime. Adding raingar- dens without the accompanying resources for ongoing maintenance is a big mistake. It will take us much longer to evaluate tree growth as trees take longer to establish. Not surprisingly, we are currently having success with the usual culprits that don’t mind wet feet, including London planetree (Platanus x acerifolia), swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor), and baldcypress (Taxodium dis- tichum). I also wouldn’t hesitate to plant ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), river birch (Betula nigra), service- berry (Amelanchier sp.), alder (Alnus sp.), red maple cultivars (Acer rubrum), willow (Salix sp.), and black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia). —Lisa Metcalf, Horticulturist, City of Upper Arlington, Ohio, Parks & Forestry Division Shown here is an Upper Arlington, Ohio rain garden in a newly re-developed parking lot during a heavy drenching rain. Run-off from the parking lot drains into the garden from curb cut-outs in either end and multiple inlets on the sides. Skyline honeylocust (Gleditsia triacanthos var. inermis ‘Skyline’) is under planted with Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica). Photo by Lisa Metcalf City Trees