A few of the Kingscourt Groundbreakers crew shows off the demonstration rain garden at Kingston Free Methoist Church at 257 Kingscourt Ave. Pictured (left to right) are: Sharyn Inward, Green Communities Canada; Lucinda Bray, Kingscourt Community Association; Alec Ross, Red Squirrel Conservation Services; and Alyssa Vanden Engel, Western Landscape Services. On July 19, Red Squirrel and the Kingscourt Community Association (KCA) officially launched Kingscourt Groundbreakers, an innovative community project in which Red Squirrel and the KCA will work with homeowners to use green infrastructure to address basement flooding problems in the Central Kingston neighbourhood.
The soil in much of Kingscourt is shallow, and the bedrock is often only a few centimetres underground. Because excess water cannot always soak into the soil, over the years many Kingscourt residents have experienced wet basements, and even floods, after heavy rainfalls or snow melts that caused water to infiltrate their home’s foundation. Some residents have spent thousands of dollars on basement cleanup, repair and sump-pump installations.
Over the next two years, the Kingscourt Groundbreakers team will work together with Kingscourt residents to identify flood-prone areas in Kingscourt and address drainage problems using rain gardens, rain barrels and by making other small-scale changes to their properties. These measures – which will be entirely funded by Red Squirrel, via a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) -- will not only mitigate or prevent further flooding, but also beautify six individual properties and the overall neighborhood.
The City of Kingston is also a Groundbreakers partner. In 2017, it will be installing two yet-to-be-determined green infrastructure measures (perhaps bioswales) on city-owned property to further address excess stormwater issues in the neighborhood. These will not only reduce street flooding and further beautify the streetscape -- they will also filter out contaminants from road runoff, which will help protect our lakes and rivers (by ensuring that the water that flows into them from stormwater sewers is as clean as possible).
The project will also host a set of public workshops that will help people learn more about the benefits of green infrastructure in general, as well as how they can manage stormwater on their property to keep basements dry and make their properties look great.
Kingscourt Groundbreakers is grateful for the financial support from OTF and the invaluable technical assistance it has received from Green Communities Canada.
Stay tuned for announcements of upcoming workshops! In the meantime, check out this news story about the project! And here's another one!
The soil in much of Kingscourt is shallow, and the bedrock is often only a few centimetres underground. Because excess water cannot always soak into the soil, over the years many Kingscourt residents have experienced wet basements, and even floods, after heavy rainfalls or snow melts that caused water to infiltrate their home’s foundation. Some residents have spent thousands of dollars on basement cleanup, repair and sump-pump installations.
Over the next two years, the Kingscourt Groundbreakers team will work together with Kingscourt residents to identify flood-prone areas in Kingscourt and address drainage problems using rain gardens, rain barrels and by making other small-scale changes to their properties. These measures – which will be entirely funded by Red Squirrel, via a grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) -- will not only mitigate or prevent further flooding, but also beautify six individual properties and the overall neighborhood.
The City of Kingston is also a Groundbreakers partner. In 2017, it will be installing two yet-to-be-determined green infrastructure measures (perhaps bioswales) on city-owned property to further address excess stormwater issues in the neighborhood. These will not only reduce street flooding and further beautify the streetscape -- they will also filter out contaminants from road runoff, which will help protect our lakes and rivers (by ensuring that the water that flows into them from stormwater sewers is as clean as possible).
The project will also host a set of public workshops that will help people learn more about the benefits of green infrastructure in general, as well as how they can manage stormwater on their property to keep basements dry and make their properties look great.
Kingscourt Groundbreakers is grateful for the financial support from OTF and the invaluable technical assistance it has received from Green Communities Canada.
Stay tuned for announcements of upcoming workshops! In the meantime, check out this news story about the project! And here's another one!
Alec Ross (Red Squirrel) assists Sophie Kiwala, Kingston and the Islands MPP (centre), and Kingston mayor Bryan Paterson (right) as they plant two fescues in the new rain garden.
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