A volunteer effort
By Greg Silva, Chair of the Creation Care Commission
The Great Window, with its beautiful view of the Catalina Mountains, is a unique focal point. Losing this treasure would be a tragedy, but the rainwater that pools against the north wall of the church puts it at risk.
For the past few months, the Creation Care Commission, Buildings & Grounds Committee, and Garden Guild (with the help of experts from Watershed Management Group) have investigated how to mitigate this risk.
With Vestry approval, we will begin doing the work to create a desert rain garden in the area north of the Great Window in the Sanctuary.
All costs and labor for this project are being donated and will not impact the church’s budget.
This project will address several issues:
- Currently, all the water from the roof drains into the space between the children’s playground and the Great Window. Depending on conditions, much of that roof water, plus any rain that falls directly in this area, flows downhill to the base of the Great Window, potentially causing damage to both this wall and its foundation.
- This entire area has been rather neglected in recent years and could use some clean-up work.
- There are packrat nests in this area (some very close to the playground) which pose a health risk to children and potential rodent damage to our church buildings.
The intention is to use earthworks to better control where the water goes, so that a potentially serious problem is turned into a valuable resource.
With a carefully planned and executed design of berms and basins, we will be able to slow, spread, and infiltrate water where it is needed. This will greatly benefit the plants in this natural desert area.
At the same time, overflow routes are part of the plan to prevent water from accumulating at the base of the Great Window. Rock-edged graded walkways and desert plantings will be added to make the area more inviting to parishioners.
We will also remove some invasive species that have taken root in the area to make the area a better part of the local ecosystem.
Creation of the earthworks and some plant removal will happen at the end of May. The remaining work will occur in the fall with help from our youth and other volunteers.
Working together we can preserve the beautiful view from our Great Window.
If you are interested in helping, please contact me at gregsilva@aol.com.
