A group of students used the golf course as their laboratory, according to a University press release.
Students studied the water and the path of its runoff.
To solve the problem, they have planted different shrubs that should help stem the flow of this runoff into the surrounding areas.
Some of this water had been running into the Griffy Lake Nature Preserve.
“We’re building something called a ‘WASCOB,’ and that stands for water and sediment control basin,” SPEA graduate student Maggie Messerschmidt said in the press release. “We are vegetating it with plants that we have been cultivating for over a year now. They should slow the flow down so there isn’t so much wear and tear on our rivers.”
The EPA funding is part of the agency’s “People, Prosperity and the Planet” grants. The IU group is one of 42 student groups across the country that received the grant.
It provides up to $15,000 in funds for projects that provide alternative, sustainable approaches to environmental problems, according to the press release.
Students have already broken ground at the IU golf course on hole 16. This was to help students understand how to limit the run-off chemical-laden storm water, according to the University press release.
The IU team is called the RAIN Initiative, which stands for Restorative Adaptations for Infrastructure.
RAIN was founded by SPEA graduate students.
It is now run by Melissa Clark, a faculty member at SPEA and biology faculty members Keith Clay and Heather Reynolds, according to the University press release.
“Building berms is hard work but worthwhile because what we learn here could have a positive impact on hundreds of golf courses and the surrounding neighborhoods and environment in how we manage storm water,” Clark, director of the project, said in the press release. “Many golf courses apply heavy doses of chemicals, and we want to discover the best practices for steering storm water quantity and quality.”
Alison Graham
