Project History: In early 2020, the Collaborative was able to install a raingarden at Deer Park High School. The rain garden will reduce the impact of the School’s footprint on Cooper Creek and serve as an educational tool to teach students about hydrology, ecology, and how human activities can impact our local environment. The rain garden was funded with a grant Green Umbrella received from the Duke Energy Foundation. It was installed by staff from Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation District, OKI Regional Council of Governments, Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati, and Mill Creek Alliance.
The rain garden is located between the tennis courts and the back-parking lot of the school. It captures stormwater runoff coming from three tennis courts and allows the rainwater to slowly soak into the ground, rather than flowing straight into the storm sewer system which would quickly route the water to Cooper Creek, contributing to highly erosive flashy urban flows in the creek. The native plants in the rain garden were carefully selected to maximize the proportion of the year when flowers and fruit are available to pollinators and other wildlife.
In 2024, AmeriCorps members serving at the District revisited the rain garden, cleared out weeds, moved the stone mulch to the sides, added bark mulch, and replanted the garden.
