Streamside pg 7 7-26-12
- Details
- Category: Past Issues
caption, page 12
Planting
Students came from Woodstock Academy to help to plant the buffer on a rainy day. Courtesy photo.
WOODSTOCK — Next time you are at Woodstock Golf Course, take time to notice the native trees and shrubs newly planted along the small stream that flows between the 9th hole green and the 1st hole tee. The Eastern Connecticut Conservation District (ECCD), a not-for-profit soil and water conservation organization, worked cooperatively with the Roseland Park Board of Trustees and the management of the Woodstock Golf Course on a project designed to improve water quality in Roseland Lake. This project was funded in part by a US EPA Clean Water Act grant administered through the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
“Streamside plantings, also known as riparian vegetative buffers, are very important for water quality for many reasons.” said Jean Pillo, watershed conservation coordinator for the ECCD. “Golf courses are typically maintained with a lot of fertilizer to keep the greens in good shape, but there is a high probability that some of the fertilizer may run off when it rains or when the course is irrigated. Woodstock Golf Course is a short distance from Roseland Lake and the lake has excessive algal growth in the summer.”
There are many benefits of planting vegetation along a streamside, according to Pillo. The plants help to filter out pollutants including excess nutrients that travel overland in storm water runoff or through the top layers of the soil. The root systems of the plants also help to stabilization stream banks from erosive forces associated with overland runoff or stream currents. Tree canopies help shade water in the stream which helps to maintain water temperatures. This is especially critical to cold water fish species. And by using native plant species, it also helps to enhance wildlife habitat by providing food sources, cover, nesting sites and connecting corridors.
The plants selected for this project are either native plants or cultivars of native plants. The Windham County Master Gardener Coordinator Deb Lee was enlisted to help with the plant selection. Bloom time, flower color and fall foliage were all considered in the planting design. “We wanted a buffer project that was not only functional, but also aesthetically pleasing,” Pillo said.
Woodstock Academy students from Mrs. Rose’s Environmental Science Class, members of the Woodstock Conservation Commission and Woodstock Golf Course members and board members helped to plant the 300 foot long stream buffer, with the support of Dale Dietz, Roseland Park caretaker, who was able to dig the planting holes with a borrowed auger.
ECCD noted the lack of streamside vegetation at the golf course during a 2009 watershed investigation. The investigation led to the preparation of a watershed based plan to improve water quality in Muddy Brook, Little River and Roseland Lake.
Portions of each of these waterbodies are not meeting Connecticut Water Quality Standards. ECCD recently completed a bioretention rain garden at the Palmer Arboretum located behind the Woodstock Historical Society building on Rt. 169.
ECCD has also been working with farmers in Woodstock to make improvements on their farms that will enhance water quality.