June 01, 2009
The planting of the bioretention gardens in Orchard Park was completed in mid-May. Pictured above, two neighborhood residents stopped by to take a closer look.
If you’re a fan of native grasses and wildflowers, plan a visit to Omaha’s Orchard Park at 66th and Hartman.
The park is home to two new bioretention gardens that are part of The Cole Creek Project. The gardens are examples of stormwater best management practices, said Nina Cudahy, Environmental Quality Control Manager with the City of Omaha Department of Public Works. They have been built to capture and cleanse stormwater runoff before it enters the creek.
Cole Creek is part of the city’s local floodplain system. It begins south of Sorensen Parkway and flows into the Little Papillion Creek near the intersection of 78th and Cass. The Cole Creek Project, which runs from Sorensen Parkway to Hartman Avenue, seeks to stabilize the creek, improve its water quality and enhance the recreational use of Orchard Park.
Cudahy said the gardens contain a soil mixture that’s half compost – the city’s own Oma-Gro – and half sand. This mix filters pollutants from the stormwater, helps it drain quickly and protects the surrounding area from erosion. Subsurface drains will allow some of the collected stormwater to slowly discharge into the creek. The rest will soak into the ground, where it can be stored for plant use.
The planting of the gardens was completed in mid-May. They contain a mix of grasses and wildflowers – Big Bluestem, Switch Grass, Indian Grass, Black-eyed Susans, Butterfly Milkweed, Little Bluestem, Penstemon Albiduis, Prairie Blazing Star, Prairie Cone Flower, Pale Purple Cone Flower, Blue Gamma Grass, Bergamont, Blue Lobellia, New England Aster, Blue Flag Iris, Fox Sedge and Buffalo Grass Sod.
These native plants, Cudahy explained, have deep roots that create large pores, allowing the stormwater that collects in the gardens to move deep into the soil. They will add color to the project area during the spring, summer and fall months, and they’ll also attract a wide variety of birds and other animals.
Those who’d like to monitor the project can do so via the web at www.colecreek.org. The site contains a variety of information about the project, including a new photo gallery that’s capturing the construction progress. The gallery can be viewed at www.colecreek.org/project-progress.
The Cole Creek Project is a partnership of the City of Omaha Departments of Public Works and Parks, Recreation and Public Property; Roncalli Catholic High School; Douglas County; Omaha by Design; the Benson-Ames Alliance; Big Muddy Workshop; Hayes Environmental L.L.C.; Lamp, Rynearson & Associates; and Olsson Associates. It is funded by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District. For more information, contact Omaha by Design at 402.554.4010 or info@omahabydesign.org.