With help from local students, the Brodhead Watershed Association recently coordinated the planting of several new rain gardens in East Stroudsburg in Monroe County.

In the first week of October, East Stroudsburg High School South students from Pat Bixler’s environmental science class planted three small gardens next to the East Stroudsburg firehouse on Lackawanna Avenue.

The gardens will intercept parking lot runoff before it goes into an underground water storage basin and from there to an underground tributary to Brodhead Creek.

On October 14 BWA volunteers planted two small gardens at the historic Dansbury Depot on Kistler Street. Stormwater from that area also flows to the Brodhead.

East Stroudsburg municipal public works crews prepared the sites for planting.

Rain gardens are bowl-shaped depressions filled with native plants. The gardens capture runoff from roofs and paved areas, allowing the water to seep slowly into the ground as the plants filter out pollutants.

The new rain gardens will help prevent runoff from reaching nearby Brodhead Creek.

A grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation pays for the rain gardens with municipal in-kind match.

For information about other local rain gardens and how to create your own, visit the BWA Rain Gardens webpage.

For more information on programs, initiatives and other upcoming events, visit the Brodhead Watershed Association website.

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