By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The township is implementing two separate $1,000 grants to help construct two different rain gardens at parks in the community. Mayor Michael Mignogna attended the ground-breaking ceremony of the first rain garden last week at Lions Lake Park.
Township Administrator Larry Spellman said the project is being designed by students from Rutgers University, with the help of township volunteers. Rutgers students have been busy in Voorhees as of late, as several students are also coming down in the near future to design a project at the Buzby Landfill.
Rain gardens are planted depressions that siphon rainwater runoff to the ground in areas that generally don’t offer opportunities for rain water to be absorbed back into the earth. Such areas include roofs, driveways, sidewalks and other urban areas.
Rainwater that is absorbed through the ground and not through surface water or storm drains is significantly less polluted. According to representatives from Cook College of Rutgers University, rainwater that is not filtered through the ground can contain fertilizers, petrochemicals and pesticides which may have accumulated on driveways, sidewalks or streets.
Soil acts as a natural filter, eliminating the various pollutants and taking in nutrients from the rainwater.
Volunteers helped create the rain garden and planted several different natural varieties of plant life that are local to the Voorhees environment.
It’s a good project for both of these community parks, Spellman said, because representatives have noticed that there is a standing water problem in both areas. These rain gardens will help disperse the standing water and improve the environment, he said.
A second rain garden will be constructed in October at Connolly Park, during the weekend of Oct. 9. It is the same weekend that the community has been asked to come out and volunteer to help build the new playground at the park, Spellman said.
Rutgers students also came down to Cherry Hill earlier in the year to design and build rain gardens as well.
