WSU Jefferson County Beach Watchers are offering informative tours of Rain Gardens in downtown Port Townsend. Here we are, offering our first tour. Beach Watcher Matt Berberich is guiding the tour. In the picture above he's showing the traditional way stormwater is treated. Down the drain and untreated - into the water in the background.
And here is the new way! The Rain Garden is in front of the Maritime Center -- capturing and treating stormwater from the street - before it goes into the bay in the background.
Stormwater runoff is the leading source of toxins in Puget Sound. The main sources of these toxic chemicals are the everyday activities of people using pesticides, fertilizing lawns and gardens, and operating vehicles on our roadways. The tours feature the newly installed Rain Gardens in downtown Port Townsend Rain Gardens are a very important element in Low Impact Development. WSU Puyallup Research and Extension Center is conducting extensive research on Rain Gardens. For more information click here.
Interpretive signs, funded by the Jefferson County Master Gardener Foundation, have been installed in four rain gardens on Upper Sims Way and downtown. They provide an excellent opportunity to see how Rain Gardens function in different environments and with different varieties of plants.
The tours last about 30 minutes and we walk about 2 blocks during that time. Tours are limited to 15 people. Please call or email today 360/379-5610 x230 or darcym@wsu.edu for more information or to schedule a tour.
Thanks to the WSU Master Gardener Foundation, the Jefferson Marine Resources Committee and the City of Port Townsend for their support for this project. Also thanks to Stewardship Partners (www.StewardshipPartners.org) for the great signs.