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Tanapag Middle School plants rain garden
A rain garden has been planted at the Tanapag Elementary School by the joined forces of Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality, Micronesia Islands Natural Alliance, Northern Marianas College ENRO Club, and students from Tanapag Middle School’s Micronesia Challenge Club. (Contributed Photo)
The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality teamed up with Micronesia Islands Natural Alliance, Northern Marianas College ENRO Club, and students from Tanapag Middle School’s Micronesia Challenge Club to plant a rain garden on campus.
A rain garden is planted in a depression or a dip and works to collect rainwater draining of roads and walkways. As rainwater flows downhill, the rain garden catches pollutants and sediment that might otherwise end up in our oceans. Storm water that flows through the middle school campus (home of the Tataga!) ends up in the Tanapag Lagoon. Storm water can include sediment and harmful pollutants such as animal waste, motor oil, pesticides and fertilizers, can affect fish and corals that live in the lagoon. Tanapag’s new rain garden will help slow down and clean the polluted storm water. The soil helps filter the polluted water and the plants help keep the soil in place as well as using the storm water to grow. This is BECQ’s third rain garden on island. The other rain gardens can be found at San Vicente Elementary School and at the CNMI Museum.
Students from Tanapag Middle School and NMC’s ENRO club also participated in filming a climate change informational video that will be available for distribution at the end of this year. While we cannot stop climate change, we can work to make our island healthier and more resilient, which means our environment will be better able to adapt to changes in the future.
Anyone can help our oceans by building a rain garden on their property. For more information on how to plan and plant your very own rain garden please call BECQ at 664-8500. (PR)
