Released Feb. 5, 2008
STILLWATER, Okla. -- Studying horticulture got a lot more interesting for Grove High School students recently, as Grove FFA classmates helped in the care and planting of the landscaping for several bio-retention cell projects in Grove.
The projects, also called “rain gardens” are all tied to a water quality initiative effort for Grand Lake, cooperatively designed and engineered by researchers in Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and financed through Oklahoma Conservation Commission grants and funds from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Glenn Brown, OSU soil and water professor in the department of biosystems and agricultural engineering, said the projects have garnered a tremendous amount of interest in Grove, where eight bio-retention cells are being constructed and several others are under consideration.
“The impact won’t show up immediately,” Brown said. “But it could become widely used and it would impact streams and rivers.”
Students in Charles Curls’ FFA program at Grove High School have been actively participating with the two rain garden projects located on school property, near Grand Lake.
“Two of the sites were at Grove High School and the Grove Early Childhood Center and can easily be used for educational purposes in the future,” Curl said.
“The plants were purchased for us by OSU and were delivered to our greenhouse where the students cared for them and learned about their cultural requirements as planting continued,” he said. “The students planted at six sites in Grove as a part of their horticulture and landscaping training.”
A large number of the plants selected for the projects are native to Oklahoma and were chosen for their ability to survive both wet and dry conditions on the surface of the retention cells.
“Master gardeners and Grove students have done the planting and will help with landscape maintenance of many of the sites,” Brown said.
The engineered structures are carefully planned and constructed and use a special mix of materials for filtration that includes fly ash, a by-product of the coal industry known for the ability to capture heavy metals and other pollutants. The ongoing research places OSU and the state at the forefront of efforts in non-point pollution source and water quality.
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Contact: Janet F. Reeder, (405) 744-3651, janet.reeder@okstate.edu
