Are Lansing rain gardens an asset or a liability?

My organization agreed to maintain two of Lansing’s Michigan Avenue rain gardens this season through Downtown Lansing, Inc.’s “adopt-a-spot” program. The Michigan Avenue rain gardens were engineered and completed in 2008 by Tetra Tech, a global California-based company. The system was funded with $1 million in grant money and $500,000 in donated match funds.

The rain gardens are an asset in the urban environment. They manage stormwater runoff and keep pollution (chemicals and trash) out of our rivers and lakes. Instead, stormwater is filtered naturally through the soil and deep-rooted native plants. The rain gardens can be aesthetically pleasing since Michigan has many native rain garden plants tolerant of road salt, providing blooms from spring into fall. The deep-rooted plants stand up to our winters, providing cover for butterfly chrysalises and other insects and seeds for birds.

The rain gardens need to be maintained to work! A stroll down Michigan Avenue clearly shows an all-volunteer rain garden education and maintenance program isn’t working and is leading to frustration.

In 2009, the city of Lansing put Downtown Lansing, Inc, in charge of overseeing maintenance and community education for the rain gardens. Currently, DLI has three employees, much on its agenda and a limited budget. The only reason there is a coordinator for the adopt-a-spot program the past few years is because a young Lansing resident volunteered her time.

The City of Lansing needs to find a way to make the gardens more accessible. It’s difficult to find volunteers to maintain the gardens when you must climb a 3-foot wall and jump into a basin. Business owners don’t even want to request employees to pick-up litter in the gardens due to liability issues.

It appears the City of Lansing needs to do more to educate the community on planting and maintaining the rain gardens. Despite the cost and volunteer work hours involved in replanting each year, few gardens remain vibrant with native plant communities. Most have been poorly — or not at all-maintained by the adopting organization/business. Either the garden is choked with invasive weeds and grasses or contains only a few non-native ornamental plants.

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Perhaps the city should begin with policing and enforcing Michigan’s litter laws. Many volunteer hours are spent picking up trash. Despite over $1,400 spent to purchase and install cigarette receptacles, smokers are still using the rain gardens and sidewalks as ashtrays. The butt might be small, but it takes decades to degrade, and the toxic residue is damaging to the environment. Business owners might consider limiting packaging used for take-out merchandise and/or provide additional waste receptacles in front of their establishments throughout business hours.

Lansing city officials need to take responsibility to make the gardens more accessible and provide leadership regarding maintenance and education. Can the greater Lansing community come together for the common purpose of revitalizing our engineered rain garden investment?

Chris Leodler is a member of the Red Cedar chapter of Wild Ones, a non-profit environmental education and advocacy organization.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Lansing rain gardens need to be maintained to work