Bergen SWAN and “4 Towns” Partners Plant Xeriscape Garden at Hillsdale’s Centennial Field
By Mel Fabrikant Monday, June 01, 2009, 04:18 PM EDT
A new xeriscape, or low water use garden, and a runoff-capturing rain barrel appeared in Hillsdale’s Centennial Park on May 17 as the first of several water conservation and stormwater management projects funded by two 2009 grants to Westwood-based watershed protection group, Bergen SWAN.
The garden, which adjoins the park’s field house, was installed as part of Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network’s “4 Towns Watershed Stewardship Project,” through which a consortium of partners including Rutgers Water Resources Program, town engineers, municipal representatives, and landscape professionals are planning and implementing stormwater control devices and promoting water conservation and other watershed-friendly practices in Hillsdale, Westwood, River Vale, and Emerson.
The low maintenance, water conserving planting plan for Hillsdale was created by Robert Schucker and staff of R&S Landscaping (Midland Park) and Master Gardener Christina Shankar (Nanuet, NY), and overseen by Hillsdale Borough Engineer Christopher Statile – all project partners. Volunteer labor was provided by local residents and employees of United Water New Jersey . The next “4 Towns” project, a combination rain garden and xeriscape garden, is slated for River Vale’s Community Center this summer.
“The Hillsdale garden features stormwater control devices and promotes water conservation and other watershed-friendly practices,” said Schucker, who donated the rain barrel and hours of expertise and labor. “Xeriscape gardening reduces or eliminates the need for supplemental water supply and is ideal for areas where it is difficult to supply water. The garden features native plants like aster, black-eyed Susan, Joe-Pye weed, purple milkweed, and serviceberry – all drought-tolerant and beneficial to wildlife.”
Master Gardener Chris Shankar added, “All of the materials – plants, topsoil, and mulch – were from nearby, local sources. This one-day project can be readily replicated by the average homeowner, enabling them to incorporate an easily maintained, pesticide-free, attractive addition into their landscaping.”
The 4 Towns Project’s environmentally sound installations, known as Best Management Practices (BMP’s), are funded by the Watershed Institute and Conservation Resources, Inc., with generous in-kind contributions from all the project partners. The gardens and other restoration efforts created under this project will be featured sites on SWAN’s planned September 13 “Watershed Eco Tour” of homes and parks illustrating environmentally friendly landscaping techniques. Residents who have created backyard wildlife habitats, nature sanctuaries, organic gardens, lawn alternatives, native plants, or streamside buffers on their properties and would like to have their home featured on the September tour should contact the organization for details.
“By engaging in a multi-faceted approach to stormwater management – buying out flood plain lands, bringing back riparian buffers, and installing these BMP’s, we chip away at the serious flooding problem we have along the Pascack and Musquapsink Brooks and make them environmental assets,” said Chris Statile, Hillsdale Borough Engineer.
“These are the first of what we hope will be countless improvements to the way we manage and perceive the areas surrounding our reservoirs. Each of us has a unique responsibility to keep our properties environmentally sound, as we literally drink and bathe in traces of certain chemicals and sediments that we add into the streams surrounding our homes,” reflected SWAN Co-Director Lori Charkey.
For a free electronic or paper copy of the Hillsdale xeriscape garden planting plan, contact Bergen SWAN at 201-666-1877 or bergenswan@sprynet.com.
Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network
Bergen SWAN has been working to preserve land and encourage watershed stewardship in the Upper Hackensack River Watershed for over 21 years. The organization recently opened an office in downtown Westwood. To date, it has been responsible for preventing the development of thousands of acres of protective land around the region’s water supply reservoirs. In recent years, the group has put a renewed emphasis on encouraging residents and local governments to practice environmentally sensitive land care techniques. Their website is www.bergenswan.org.
Gardens by Chris
Chris Shankar attended the Cornell Co-op Extension Master Gardeners program, and also has taken classes at the New York Botanic Gardens toward a Landscape Design certificate, currently in progress. Gardens by Chris is a design company through which she helps homeowners select perennials, shrubs, and trees that are most appropriate for their yard conditions. Her goal is to help create gardens that require the least inputs in terms of labor, water, or chemicals, and are beautiful to behold. She selects plants that can withstand our widely-varying weather conditions, attract bees and butterflies, and provide food or cover to birds. Chris recently participated as a landscape designer in planning public rain gardens at several parks in Rockland County . She was chiefly responsible for designing and selecting plant material for a SWAN-sponsored rain garden installed at a Haworth residence in 2007.
R&S Landscaping
For over 25 years, R&S Landscaping has offered high-end, quality service to residential, public, and commercial property owners in the areas of design/build, grounds maintenance, irrigation, snow/ice removal, lighting and plant health care. R&S is committed to environmental balance through innovative technology and green practices. Eco Earth Design, a division of R&S, collaborates with architects, building managers, contractors, engineers, green consultants, and business and property owners to create ecologically sensitive outdoor solutions. For information on R&S, call 201-447-6205 or visit www.rscape.com; for information on Eco Earth Design, call 201-882-2122 or see www.ecoearthdesign.com.
Rutgers Water Resource Program
The Water Resources Program (WRP) is one of many specialty programs under the Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Through research, project development, assessment, and consultation, WRP provides solutions for many of the water quality and quantity issues facing New Jersey, including stormwater management, wastewater treatment, and sustainable water resources. WRP distributes fact sheets and provides educational programming in the form of lectures, seminars, and workshops as part of their ongoing citizen outreach.
The garden, which adjoins the park’s field house, was installed as part of Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network’s “4 Towns Watershed Stewardship Project,” through which a consortium of partners including Rutgers Water Resources Program, town engineers, municipal representatives, and landscape professionals are planning and implementing stormwater control devices and promoting water conservation and other watershed-friendly practices in Hillsdale, Westwood, River Vale, and Emerson.
The low maintenance, water conserving planting plan for Hillsdale was created by Robert Schucker and staff of R&S Landscaping (Midland Park) and Master Gardener Christina Shankar (Nanuet, NY), and overseen by Hillsdale Borough Engineer Christopher Statile – all project partners. Volunteer labor was provided by local residents and employees of United Water New Jersey . The next “4 Towns” project, a combination rain garden and xeriscape garden, is slated for River Vale’s Community Center this summer.
“The Hillsdale garden features stormwater control devices and promotes water conservation and other watershed-friendly practices,” said Schucker, who donated the rain barrel and hours of expertise and labor. “Xeriscape gardening reduces or eliminates the need for supplemental water supply and is ideal for areas where it is difficult to supply water. The garden features native plants like aster, black-eyed Susan, Joe-Pye weed, purple milkweed, and serviceberry – all drought-tolerant and beneficial to wildlife.”
Master Gardener Chris Shankar added, “All of the materials – plants, topsoil, and mulch – were from nearby, local sources. This one-day project can be readily replicated by the average homeowner, enabling them to incorporate an easily maintained, pesticide-free, attractive addition into their landscaping.”
The 4 Towns Project’s environmentally sound installations, known as Best Management Practices (BMP’s), are funded by the Watershed Institute and Conservation Resources, Inc., with generous in-kind contributions from all the project partners. The gardens and other restoration efforts created under this project will be featured sites on SWAN’s planned September 13 “Watershed Eco Tour” of homes and parks illustrating environmentally friendly landscaping techniques. Residents who have created backyard wildlife habitats, nature sanctuaries, organic gardens, lawn alternatives, native plants, or streamside buffers on their properties and would like to have their home featured on the September tour should contact the organization for details.
“By engaging in a multi-faceted approach to stormwater management – buying out flood plain lands, bringing back riparian buffers, and installing these BMP’s, we chip away at the serious flooding problem we have along the Pascack and Musquapsink Brooks and make them environmental assets,” said Chris Statile, Hillsdale Borough Engineer.
“These are the first of what we hope will be countless improvements to the way we manage and perceive the areas surrounding our reservoirs. Each of us has a unique responsibility to keep our properties environmentally sound, as we literally drink and bathe in traces of certain chemicals and sediments that we add into the streams surrounding our homes,” reflected SWAN Co-Director Lori Charkey.
For a free electronic or paper copy of the Hillsdale xeriscape garden planting plan, contact Bergen SWAN at 201-666-1877 or bergenswan@sprynet.com.
Bergen Save the Watershed Action Network
Bergen SWAN has been working to preserve land and encourage watershed stewardship in the Upper Hackensack River Watershed for over 21 years. The organization recently opened an office in downtown Westwood. To date, it has been responsible for preventing the development of thousands of acres of protective land around the region’s water supply reservoirs. In recent years, the group has put a renewed emphasis on encouraging residents and local governments to practice environmentally sensitive land care techniques. Their website is www.bergenswan.org.
Gardens by Chris
Chris Shankar attended the Cornell Co-op Extension Master Gardeners program, and also has taken classes at the New York Botanic Gardens toward a Landscape Design certificate, currently in progress. Gardens by Chris is a design company through which she helps homeowners select perennials, shrubs, and trees that are most appropriate for their yard conditions. Her goal is to help create gardens that require the least inputs in terms of labor, water, or chemicals, and are beautiful to behold. She selects plants that can withstand our widely-varying weather conditions, attract bees and butterflies, and provide food or cover to birds. Chris recently participated as a landscape designer in planning public rain gardens at several parks in Rockland County . She was chiefly responsible for designing and selecting plant material for a SWAN-sponsored rain garden installed at a Haworth residence in 2007.
R&S Landscaping
For over 25 years, R&S Landscaping has offered high-end, quality service to residential, public, and commercial property owners in the areas of design/build, grounds maintenance, irrigation, snow/ice removal, lighting and plant health care. R&S is committed to environmental balance through innovative technology and green practices. Eco Earth Design, a division of R&S, collaborates with architects, building managers, contractors, engineers, green consultants, and business and property owners to create ecologically sensitive outdoor solutions. For information on R&S, call 201-447-6205 or visit www.rscape.com; for information on Eco Earth Design, call 201-882-2122 or see www.ecoearthdesign.com.
Rutgers Water Resource Program
The Water Resources Program (WRP) is one of many specialty programs under the Rutgers Cooperative Extension. Through research, project development, assessment, and consultation, WRP provides solutions for many of the water quality and quantity issues facing New Jersey, including stormwater management, wastewater treatment, and sustainable water resources. WRP distributes fact sheets and provides educational programming in the form of lectures, seminars, and workshops as part of their ongoing citizen outreach.
