Partner Highlight - Plaster Creek Stewards
The Plaster Creek Stewards is a group of Calvin College faculty, staff and students who work to improve the quality of the Plaster Creek Watershed. LGROW has partnered with the Plaster Creek Stewards on numerous projects to improve the water quality of Plaster Creek and the Grand River. Some of the recent projects include creating and implementing the Grand River Rainscaping Program: Treating Stormwater Naturally, which provide residential site assessements for homeowners to assess the suitability of green stormwater infrastructure for their properties, installing rain gardens, bioswales, and other stormwater management practices, and providing education to local schools on general watershed information and best management practices. The Plaster Creek Stewards lead Kent County in curb cut rain garden design and installation to mitigate stormwater pollution and create biodiversity and habitat in urban areas.
Curb Cut Rain Garden installed by Plaster Creek through the most recent NFWF 5 Star and Urban Waters Grant
The National Fish and Wildlife Federation 5 Star and Urban Waters grant funded the creation, development, and beginning stages of the Grand River Rainscaping Program. The Plaster Creek Stewards installed two curb cut rain gardens in the Roosevelt Park neighborhood in the Plaster Creek watershed through this grant.
The Plaster Creek Stewards, with the Kent County Drain Commissioner, planned and designed a tree buffer planting along agricultural fields and the Schooley Drain in Caledonia. There were over 200 trees planted that will stabilize the banks of the drain, reduce polluted runoff from roads and fields, and reduce water temperatures. Pictured below
Schooley Drain Tree Planting
Learn more about the Plaster Creek Stewards at calvin.edu/plaster-creek-stewards/