Libertytown Community Restoration Projects -
A Chance to Get Dirty, Have Fun, Learn a Lot,
and Help Slow Down and Filter Rain Water
-Kay Schultz
Community Restoration Coordinator
Watershed Management Section
Frederick County Division of Public Works
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Kids and adults helped plant more than 500 beautiful native perennials, ferns, grasses and flowers, in four rain gardens in Libertytown on Saturday, May 6th. More than 10 children and 20 adults helped with the plantings, helping improve water quality in the nearby Town Branch and downstream Linganore Creek, Lake Linganore, the Monocacy and Potomac Rivers and the Chesapeake Bay beyond. The project was jointly funded by the Chesapeake Bay Trust, a private, nonprofit grantmaking organization created by the Maryland General Assembly in 1985 to promote public awareness and participation in the restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay and its Maryland tributaries, and Frederick County's Division of Public Works.
The community restoration project is a part of the Libertytown Stewards project, an initiative sponsored by Frederick County’s Watershed Management Section in the Division of Public Works, collaborating with the Monocacy & Catoctin Watershed Alliance partners. Active partners with the County include the Potomac Conservancy, the Maryland Forest Service, and Frederick County Master Gardeners. Local restoration site sponsors are Liberty Village Homeowners Association, Liberty Elementary School, and St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church.
Bryan Seipp of the Potomac Conservancy designed the rain garden at Liberty Elementary and supervised construction by John Glick with Glick Nursery in |
Libertytown. The rain garden is planned to have a capacity of 6” of water that will come from roofs, pavement and lawn (impervious surfaces) in the vicinity. It will slow the velocity of the water as it leaves these impervious surfaces, allow it to soak into the ground, and help to replenish ground water. |
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Garden plants will help absorb nutrients and other pollutants from runoff. |
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Two of the gardens at Liberty Village were constructed under the mentorship and direction of Jim Gallion, with Gardening Adventures in Walkersville. Jim worked with the homeowers at Liberty Village to select the garden locations, stake out their shape, help remove sod and build a small berm, amend the soil, and lay out and plant native plants. Jim joined Earlene and Dan in first cutting and removing the sod and building a small berm with it.
At the Liberty Elementary rain garden, DPW staff members Shannon Moore and Jessica Hunicke assisted local volunteers, Earlene Duncan and spouse Dan with planting 10 trees and shrubs and spreading mulch. |
Kay Schultz and Shannon Moore helped with the construction of a small retaining wall to protect an existing cherry tree. |
The homeowners at Liberty Village welcomed five youth, three children and 12 adults to help plant more than 400 native plants in their three rain gardens. |
Cub scout pack 1062 members Chase Foley and Kasal Smaha planted more than 100 native perennials with their moms’ help aided by Master Gardener Janet Sykes. Kasal especially enjoyed watering the plantsand was aided by three more scouts who joined the watering brigade following their soccer game. An estimated 140 hours of volunteer time was invested in establishing the four rain gardens.
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Here's a photo, taken August 2006 by John Beutler, of one of the rain gardens installed at Liberty Village now that the plants have had a chance to establish.
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