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Happening
at the Crossroads
June 8,
2009
by Coggin
Heeringa
Our interest in rain is an outgrowth our year-long theme on the Great Lakes and our perennial concern for water quality.
Crossroads
at Big Creek continues to sell rain barrels, used to collect the runoff
water from your roof, which normally flows onto your lawn or down your
driveway and out into the street. The water may be used to water your
lawn and garden in the ensuing rain-free days. Using rain water will
reduce your water bill. If you have “city water,” you pay your
municipality for supplying the water based on your usage level. If you
have “well water,” you pay for the electricity to run your water pump.
Rain
barrels are assembled by members of Sustain Door and sold at
Crossroads with the proceeds going to support the environmental
programs of both groups. The underlying benefit of people using rain
barrels is the decrease in the amount of storm water entering our lakes
and bays.
Crossroads continues to renew the hosting of
researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. For the past five
years, they have collected water at area beaches. Samples are
brought to the lab at Crossroads where they are incubated and tested
for E.coli and other substances to determine whether beaches are safe
for swimming. The on-going studies have clearly demonstrated that,
following rain events, there is a significant increase in the bacteria
found in the beach water.
There is little doubt that stormwater
runoff washes microbes and nutrients into the water. Rain barrels
will not solve the problems, but they are one way you can help reduce
the amount of water entering our storm sewers. And now that the water
rates in Sturgeon Bay have gone up, free water is an added incentive.
Another
way to keep pollution out of the lakes is to create a rain garden. Door
Property Owners, Inc. (DPO) and Going Garbage & Recycling Inc.
(GGRI) are pleased to announce an upcoming topic in the June program of
the 2009 Door County Environmental Speaker Series - The Creation and
Maintenance of a Rain Garden for the Door County property owner.
Chad
Cook, who works with the University of Wisconsin-Extension as the Basin
Educator for Natural Resources, and Greg Coulthurst, who is a
conservationist with the Door County Soil & Water Conservation
Department will present the program on Thursday, June 11 at 7 pm
at the Ray and Ruthie Stonecipher Astronomy Center (use entrance at
corner of Utah Street and Cove Road, east of Hwy 42/57) in Sturgeon Bay.
Part
of the program may take place outdoors, so attendees are encouraged to
dress for the weather. A new rain garden has just been constructed on
the grounds of the Astronomy Center and will be used as an example.
A
rain garden is a planted depression that allows rainwater runoff from
impervious areas such as roofs, driveways and walkways with an
opportunity to be absorbed. These types of gardens reduce rain runoff
by allowing storm water to soak into the ground as opposed to flowing
into storm drains and surface waters which can cause erosion, water
pollution, and flooding. Rain gardens can often cut down on the amount
of pollution reaching nearby creeks and streams by up to 30%.
Chad
Cook will begin the presentation by introducing the concept of nature’s
water cycle, and how our current living conditions have altered this
cycle - to the detriment of our natural systems. Cook will then discuss
the concept of rain gardens and how they can be used to increase
filtration before wrapping up with how to design and build a rain
garden. Greg Coulthurst will take Chad’s presentation a step further by
discussing the challenges and concerns with installing rain gardens in
Door County, such as shallow soils, karst, contaminant sources, and
more.
“A rain garden is an easy way for a homeowner or a
business owner to reduce the amount of polluted runoff that makes its
way to the peninsula’s lakes and streams,” says Elaine Van S.
Carmichael, President of Door Property Owners. “Most of us landscape
anyway, and with a few simple changes your garden can do double duty:
beautifying your property and protecting Door County’s water quality.”
If
it does rain, hikers and dog walkers will not have to worry about
getting muddy as they hide the trails of Crossroads thanks to the
efforts of the entire student bodies, staff and parent volunteers of
Sunrise, Sawyer, and Sunset Schools. During their Earth Day
celebrations (held on make-up rain days) students learned about the
Great Lakes and their tributaries, but each class also participated in
a service project, surfacing the hiking trails with water permeable
wood chips. If you enjoy the trails, please thank a Sturgeon Bay
elementary student.
On Sunday, June 14, at 1 pm, the Door
County Folk Alliance continues its 2009 Acoustic Concert Series with
the Sugar on the Floor Barn Dance Orchestra. This popular group will
play Contra Dance and American Fiddle Tunes in the Chapel at The
Crossroads. The concert is free and open to the public but a donations
for the musicians gratefully accepted. Costumed guides will be on hand
to offer Village Tours to concert goers.
The Door County
Historical Society will also hold a Vintage and Antique Items Sale in
the Historical Village at the Crossroads. The sale will be held
Thursday, June 18 1 - 6 pm and on Friday, June 19, from 9 am to 1 pm.
The
Collins Learning Center and the Historical Village at the Crossroads
are located at 2041 Michigan Street in Sturgeon Bay. The Ray and Ruthie
Stonecipher Astronomy Center can be reached from the Utah Street
Entrance of Crossroads (at the Utah/Cove Road intersection)
Summer hours for the Wisconsin Wildlife Exhibit and Great Lakes
Ecosystem Exhibit are 2 - 4 pm daily.
Thursday, June 11, 7:00 2009 Environmental Speaker Series Lecture: Rain Gardens
Door
Property Owners, Inc. (DPO) and Going Garbage & Recycling Inc
(GGRI) invite the public to a free program on the creation and
maintenance of a rain garden for the Door County property owner.
Chad Cook, who works with the University of Wisconsin-Extension as the Basin Educator for Natural
Resources, and Greg Coulthurst, who is a conservationist with the Door County Soil & Water Conservation
Department will present the program. Dress for the weather. Some of the program may be offered outdoors.
Ray
and Ruthie Stonecipher Astronomy Center (use entrance at corner of Utah
Street and Cove Road, east of Hwy 42/57) in Sturgeon Bay.
Sunday, June 14 1:00 2009 Acoustic Concert Series :The Sugar on the Floor Barn Dance Orchestra.
Door
County Folk Alliance continues its 2009 Acoustic Concert Series with
The Sugar on the Floor Barn Dance Orchestra. This popular group will
plat Contra Dance and American Fiddle Tunes in the Chapel at The
Crossiroads. The concert is free and open to the public but a donations
for the musicians gratefully accepted.
1:00-3:30 Tours of the Historical Village at the Crossroads
Costumed guides will offer free tours of the buildings of the Village at The Crossroads.
Many of
the Past News articles may be retrieved from this directory,
indexed and named in the following manner: 080101-news.htm
where
the first two numbers are the year, the second two the month and the
last two the date.
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