A high-level, honors, service-learning<\/a> course \u2013 that also allows undergraduate students to fulfill their general education environmental literacy, or \u201cE,\u201d requirement \u2013 Anthropology 3340 offers students a theoretical deep-dive on human-environmental interaction, ethics, climate change, disasters, environmental justice, and health.<\/p>\n But it also includes an applied aspect, where students engage with the broader campus community to try to implement some of what they are learning \u2013 to educate, to advocate, or to take environmental action.<\/p>\n \u201cIts title is \u2018Culture and Conservation,\u2019 but the course very much is rooted in environmental anthropology,\u201d says Eleanor Shoreman-Ouimet<\/a>, an assistant professor anthropology who teaches the course. \u201cEnvironmental anthropology, by nature, is very applied \u2013 it goes beyond simply the theory of human engagement with the environment toward really addressing how we can take the skill set of understanding human motivation and relationships with the environment to actually solve some of the wicked problems that are plaguing society today, plaguing the environment, plaguing non-human species, plaguing Indigenous communities around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n The course alternates between theory weeks and applied weeks. In the theory weeks, students in the class come prepared to discuss topics involving high-level environmental anthropology issues, field work, and ethnography.<\/p>\n During the applied weeks, they start by brainstorming the kinds of projects they might like to work on \u2013 the scale and scope of which can vary greatly \u2013 before starting to sort themselves into groups based on individual interests and skills.<\/p>\n \u201cAll of the projects this semester were really remarkable in the sense that they were driven by activism and they were solutions-oriented,\u201d says Shoreman-Ouimet, \u201cbut they were also lodged in respect for the campus, for the students, and even for the administration, and for wanting to figure out ways that they could contribute to the long-term health and sustainability of the campus.\u201d<\/p>\n Through the brainstorming process, the students involved in the rain garden project all initially found that they had an overlapping goal of learning more about water management and green infrastructure on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cThere were people talking about how we could make the grass at UConn more eco-friendly, or use less pesticides, researching what is already done,\u201d says Solomon, a chemistry major from Groton\/New London. \u201cWe had some people talking about how we replace grass with other things. And then, we had people talking about stormwater management and looking at what kinds of projects had been done before.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe knew that we wanted to address storm water management on campus, and then also introduce more native plants,\u201d says Stowe, who is from Newtown and is an environmental sciences major at UConn. \u201cBuilding a rain garden would be the perfect way to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n A Natural Fit<\/strong><\/p>\n Rain gardens are shallow depressions in a landscape that typically include plants and a layer of mulch or ground cover. They can be built in either residential or commercial settings, where they\u2019re typically larger and have an engineered design.<\/p>\n Regardless of the setting, rain gardens serve multiple functions in the areas where they\u2019re installed.<\/p>\n \u201cIn basic terms, rain gardens are short circuiting the flow of water to limit pesticide drift,\u201d says Donahue, an anthropology and environmental studies double major from Franklin, Massachusetts. \u201cIt’s essentially a collection of native plants that work well together, that can be pretty deep rooted.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd it helps reduce the storm flow, so that it’s not an excessive flow of water,\u201d says Stowe. \u201cBecause obviously, that disrupts natural systems.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead of directing that storm flow into stormwater systems, the water is sequestered into the landscape depression where its then slowly taken up and filtered by the plants growing in the garden.<\/p>\n \u201cSince we’re getting so much excessive rain nowadays, we have to address more flooding issues,\u201d Donahue says, \u201cand that is another aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the great things about rain gardens is that most are designed to be a natural depression in the ground, so it becomes a natural collection space,\u201d Solomon says. \u201cIf they’re designed and placed well, all of that extra flooding water from how heavy the rain we get here can be will collect in that space, instead of collecting where you’re trying to walk or causing other problems.\u201d<\/p>\n There are green stormwater features all over the Storrs campus, if you know where to look. Rain gardens, bioretention basins, and other infrastructure improvements have been strategically placed in areas where they can help reduce runoff, erosion, and the introduction of pollutants into local waterways.<\/p>\n \u201cVery simply, we’re trying to mimic how this ecosystem functioned, the forest functioned, before this site was developed,\u201d says Michael Dietz<\/a> \u201994 (CLAS) \u201901 MS \u201905 Ph.D., a water resources extension educator with the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment and director of the Connecticut Institute of Water Resources<\/a>. \u201cUConn is like a city, and these things are going in all over the country in our suburban and our urban areas, trying to help reduce the impacts of stormwater runoff from all these various surfaces and sidewalks and parking lots.\u201d<\/p>\n In his role at UConn, Dietz works alongside UConn\u2019s Facilities Operations<\/a> and University Planning, Design and Construction<\/a> to help install and maintain a number of green stormwater management features on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve actually gotten some grants to install some of the things that are around campus that you’ll notice, some of the green stormwater features,\u201d says Dietz. \u201cThe University has done a lot of this on their own.\u201d<\/p>\n Answering Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n Part of what Shoreman-Ouimet teaches students in her course is to start by asking questions.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can’t assume that a problem exists until you actually have the background knowledge to ask the questions and find out what other work is underway,\u201d says Shoreman-Ouimet, \u201cand I encourage them to find the people who are responsible for or working in the areas that they\u2019re interested in studying. Ask the questions, interview them, and respect them. Do not assume for a moment that there’s something nefarious underway or something that’s lacking.\u201d<\/p>\n That\u2019s where the team from her class began \u2013 and they asked a lot of people a lot of questions.<\/p>\n In the fall 2023 semester, they created and launched an online survey where they asked fellow UConn students for their opinions on what the University was already doing in the areas of water and grass management. They asked how students used outdoor spaces and what kinds of things they would like to see changed.<\/p>\n In a short amount of time, they amassed more than 300 responses.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was more of that ethnographic component, because it is an anthropology class and we really needed that,\u201d says Irwin. \u201cBut obviously, it’s great to see student input on what’s beneficial. And I found out that a lot of people didn’t really know what a rain garden was.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’re going to try to motivate a change on a college campus \u2013 if you’re going to try to motivate any change \u2013 it really helps to have numbers behind you,\u201d says Shoreman-Ouimet. \u201cThey formulated a survey to demonstrate that what they were proposing to do had real value to students. They were able to then present that to the administration and say: People want this, they want to see this. Students value this. Students value environmental conservation. They value the aesthetic and the true environmental conservation efforts by the University.\u201d<\/p>\n With numbers behind them, the team was ready to ask more questions, and Stowe reached out to Dietz with their idea for a rain garden.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was really interested in it,\u201d Stowe says. \u201cWe did a campus walk with him where we walked around different parts of campus, and he showed us places where there already were rain garden installation-type projects. And then he took us to the Dairy Bar, because that was a site he had identified. He was like, I think this would be great for a rain garden.\u201d<\/p>\n That particular site \u2013 right next to the Dairy Bar and behind the Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory, in clear view of a row of picnic tables \u2013 is well suited to the kind of project the students envisioned for a number of reasons, Dietz explained.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a really nice retrofit opportunity, because it already had a natural bowl, and the pipes, the building\u2019s downspouts, were easily accessible, and it had a place for the overflow to go,\u201d he says. \u201cPlus, we had the visibility for educational purposes. So, they loved that idea. I loved it, and we just tried to transmit that love up the chain as we progressed in the discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n With Dietz\u2019s help, the team approached the administration with their idea.<\/p>\n \u201cMike initially came to me, because we had looked at that area in the past for a rain garden,\u201d says Eileen McHugh, a senior project manager, landscape architect, and tree warden with University Planning, Design and Construction. \u201cHe wanted to disconnect some of the downspouts, and there was a low spot there.\u201d<\/p>\n McHugh worked with the students to create a comprehensive plan for the site, which takes up about 250 square feet of space and was covered with turf.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, I work in plans all the time,\u201d McHugh says. \u201cThey have their own ways of putting together plans \u2013 they take a picture, they draw on it, or they take an aerial and they draw on it. But it gets the idea across.\u00a0 And then, we had them stake it out. We met on-site, and we talked about how many plants were needed, and we talked about making sure we had enough coverage, so that it wasn’t too much mulch and so that it looked complete on day one.\u201d<\/p>\n The plan also had to detail how the site would be laid out, which varieties of plants would be placed in the garden, who would be responsible for taking care of the garden until it was established, and how it would be funded.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it was a little intimidating at first,\u201d says Stowe, \u201cbut I feel like, because we were working together, it wasn\u2019t as bad. Plus, Eileen and Mike helped guide us through it. So, it wasn’t like we were bouncing questions off the wall. They were there to help answer questions that we had.\u201d<\/p>\n The team received administration approval to move forward with their rain garden project in November, right around Thanksgiving break \u2013 and just before applications were due to the Office of Undergraduate Research for Change Grants.<\/p>\n Born out of the UConn Co-op\u2019s commitment to public engagement, innovative entrepreneurship, social impact, and active mentorship, the UConn Co-op Legacy Fellowship \u2013 Change Grants<\/a> provide undergraduates the opportunity to engage in projects that make an impact.<\/p>\n UConn undergraduates in all majors can apply for up to $2,000 in funding to support community service, research, advocacy, or social innovation projects. Projects need to be student-designed or student-led, and applications are accepted from individuals and from small groups who will be working collaboratively or co-leading an initiative.<\/p>\n Irwin, Stowe, and Donahue applied for a Change Grant to financially support the project last year \u2013 they received their approval over winter break.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project represents what the UConn Co-op Legacy Fellowship \u2013 Change Grant is all about,\u201d says Melissa Berkey, assistant director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, \u201csupporting student efforts to make an impact on topics, problems, or issues that matter to them and expressing the core values of innovation, leadership, and service.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s been very helpful to work with Melissa from the Change Grant, and make sure that we’re following every protocol that UConn has, that we\u2019re following the steps that we need to take,\u201d Irwin says. \u201cAnd then, obviously, we got funding from it, and we needed both approval and funding to actually make things happen, which has been great.\u201d<\/p>\n They also devised a plan for the longer-term maintenance of the garden, a critical component according to McHugh.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to be careful because, even though eventually these landscape details take less time to maintain, initially they don’t, and that’s a burden to our Facilities group,\u201d she says. \u201cOften with our projects, we will ask for two years of maintenance so that we don’t turn it over to our Facilities groups until it’s established and needs less time to take care of.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m the secretary of the Soil and Water Conservation Society<\/a>,\u201d says Stowe. \u201cWe\u2019re planning on having that club do the maintenance for it, and then hopefully I can establish it so that by the time I leave, it’s a continuous thing every year.\u201d<\/p>\n Pipes and Plants<\/strong><\/p>\n With approval and funding, the team was finally ready to begin installing their garden once freezing temperatures began to subside during the spring semester.<\/p>\n They started by disconnecting the gutter downspouts from the nearby building, digging trenches, and installing new drainage pipes that now guide runoff from the building\u2019s roof directly into the garden, instead of into the stormwater system.<\/p>\n Dietz arranged for turf to be removed from the area, and then the students worked to spread new soil in preparation for the plantings and placed river rock where the pipes stream into the garden.<\/p>\n In late April, their carefully selected plants were delivered from a local wholesale nursery, Prides Corner Farms in Lebanon<\/a> \u2013 native varieties like cone flowers, butterfly weed, little bluestem, and various native grasses.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were so helpful,\u201d says Irwin. \u201cWe got all of our plants from them \u2013 like 140 gallons of plants. It\u2019s just a whole lot, and it was really helpful to speak with them. We had to pick specific varieties for every plant, and they sent me email after email to help narrow it down.\u201d<\/p>\n The plant choices were in line with recommendations for rain garden installations, Dietz explained.<\/p>\n \u201cThey chose species that were native to this area,\u201d he says, \u201cso that once they’re established, they’re not going to need a lot of extra water or fertilizer.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMost of them have flowers that are known to be really popular with pollinators,\u201d says Solomon. \u201cMost of them are also either host plants for various butterflies and moths, they’re host plants for caterpillars, or they produce seed heads that birds and small rodents will eat through the winter. We really wanted to maximize the benefits that this small area could produce, so getting plants that have multiple functions was the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n On a warm Friday in late April, a slew of volunteers met the team at the site to help place the plants into the ground based on a grid system that Solomon drew up, and to then mulch the area.<\/p>\n Soon, signage will also be installed in the area explaining what the garden is and how it works.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve done some other signage for some of the green stormwater features on campus, and we kept it really small and concise, because we just figured people are walking by and weren\u2019t stopping, but this is a different spot,\u201d says Dietz. \u201cWe get a lot of people from outside the University coming in here, and we really want to use it as a good teaching opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n Lessons Abound<\/strong><\/p>\n Once established, the new rain garden will help sequester about 60,000 gallons of stormwater a year from the roof of the neighboring building.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a small improvement in the grand scheme of a campus as large as UConn Storrs, or in a state the size of Connecticut, or in a country as big as the United States.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s part of what Shoreman-Ouimet hopes her students will learn from the class \u2013 to start by thinking locally.<\/p>\n \u201cStart where you see yourself and tend your own garden, and then expand as you\u2019re able,\u201d says Shoreman-Ouimet. \u201cThese students saw what they wanted to do, and they saw spaces where assistance was needed and where a rain garden could make a tremendous difference in terms of water conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n She adds, \u201cThe fact that they were able to build the proposal, have the proposal accepted by the administration, and then get funding before the end of a semester is just unheard of. It was pretty spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n For the students, the project offered lessons far beyond the actual installation itself.<\/p>\n \u201cThis helped me tailor my honors thesis,\u201d says Irwin, who says the project helped steer her more toward a future in sustainable and environmental anthropology. \u201cI want to talk about stormwater management and green infrastructure, so it\u2019s been immensely helpful that I actually got to physically create something. Now, let me explore this on a global scale, and also on a local scale, and hopefully write about that in-depth.\u201d<\/p>\n Solomon says that the project helped them see how group projects could be a truly positive and collaborative learning experience.<\/p>\n \u201cHow wonderful it can be when you find the right people to work with, who really complement everybody’s different skills and abilities, of how well that can go,\u201d they say. \u201cI love that I could just step in and do what I was good at and that was enough.\u201d<\/p>\n For Donahue, the project was a lesson on the power of collective action.<\/p>\n \u201cYou really can make a change and you can make an impact in where you live and what surrounds you,\u201d he says. \u201cYou’re not going to be able to do it on your own. But when you work with others, you can make an impact that can be seen, and it can actually be calculated. We can see how much runoff we have mitigated, and that’s something that’s super cool.\u201d<\/p>\n Stowe hopes that the team\u2019s work can be a model for other students who want to take action and implement change on campus.<\/p>\n \u201cUConn is such a big campus, there’s so many opportunities,\u201d she says. \u201cI think just finding all the different people on campus who are passionate about these sorts of projects, and then working with them to actually have this come to fruition, is really cool.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s those experiences, says Dietz, that inspire him to continue doing all he can to support student-driven work and educational opportunities.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is really what it’s about \u2013 the students learning an actual real-world thing that they can put their hands on, something that they can remember, and they can bring their families here and show them,\u201d he says. \u201cTo me, that’s really a true benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For more information about <\/em>green stormwater infrastructure at UConn<\/em><\/a>, or for <\/em>guidance on building a rain garden of your own<\/em><\/a>, visit UConn\u2019s Center for Land Use Education and Research NEMO Program website at <\/em>nemo.uconn.edu<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Rain-Garden-Plan-239x300.png\")
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