We’re excited to announce a beautiful new rain garden at Glendale Public School in City of Brampton’s Fletchers Creek SNAP neighbourhood.
What is a rain garden?
A rain garden is a shallow area planted with shrubs, flowers and grasses. It slows down, soaks up and filters rainwater coming from nearby rooftops, driveways and parking lots. Rain gardens help to keep our streams, rivers and lakes clean while also beautifying neighbourhoods.
The Glendale Rain Garden is designed to capture water from the school roof and playground surface. This rain water previously pooled in the schoolyard making the field too soggy to play on. It will also help to cool water before it enters Fletchers Creek which is home to Redside Dace, an endangered fish species.
In 2018, we engaged over 300 staff, students and parents to help design the garden. Students worked together with experts to layout the garden and select native plants and special features to enhance the garden, such as a birdhouse, bench or path. The design adds beauty and interest to the garden and gives local birds and pollinators food and shelter.
Garden construction is complete. Contractors started by creating a grass swale to direct water from the school building into the rain garden. Next, they excavated approximately 1040 m2 area for the garden. The soils were amended with compost and then sculpted into a mounded terrain. This allows the rain garden to easily capture and infiltrate rainwater. Students and volunteers helped with the final steps by planting the garden with bird and pollinator friendly plants. In the fall, we installed educational signs.
This garden has been made possible by several project partners and funders. We are looking forward to seeing this neighbourhood sustainability project taking shape!
About Fletchers Creek SNAP
Glendale Rain Garden is the first low impact development project in the Fletchers Creek SNAP neighbourhood. Fletchers Creek SNAP (Sustainable Neighbourhood Action Plan) is City of Brampton’s second SNAP and the first of its kind in the Credit River Watershed. Click here to read the full plan.
SNAP brings residents and community leaders together to take local action and build resilience to climate change in mature neighbourhoods. Great work is already underway to make this neighbourhood cleaner, greener, and more sustainable.
Do you live in the Fletchers Creek SNAP neighbourhood? Click here to subscribe to Neighbourhood News, a monthly electronic newsletter, to learn about free events and exciting greening projects in the Fletchers Creek SNAP neighbourhood.
By Tooba Shakeel, Sustainable Neighbourhoods Coordinator