Satellite Beach Environmental Programs Coordinator Nick Sanzone needs dozens of volunteers willing to roll up their sleeves to get two things to grow in the medians of Desoto Parkway: bioswales and inspiration.
Starting with a work day from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. this Saturday, volunteers will help plant native plants in the city’s first bioswale, a linear, vegetated ditch which allows for the collection, conveyance and filtration of stormwater.
The initial project, partially funded through a National Estuary Program grant, will transform 700 linear feet of the median with plantings between curved edges 4 to 12 feet wide. Also called filter strips, the deep-rooted grasses and plants enhance water quality by ponding the stormwater between berms and allowing pollutants to settle out of the water.
Ultimately, the Desoto project is expected to treat 389 million gallons of stormwater generated from 296 acres resulting in a 1,000-pound annual reduction of nitrogen and phosphorus going into the Indian River Lagoon. The new swales will allow for a minimum stormwater retention of 21,563 gallons.
In preparation for the event, Sanzone recently went to New Smyrna Beach, where he and others harvested native grasses and bushes from a recently restored wetlands. The two donated grasses collected were Spartina Alterniflora and Spartina Patens. There also is $10,000 worth of 20 types of native plants for the project already purchased and being cared for by the city.
As for the Desoto Project helping grow inspiration, the visibility of the roadway should help the public understand the value of the project which also features trails, informational signage and other outreach efforts.
The Desoto project may become a model for bioswales in other cities, but it will only truly make a local impact if the community buys in and creates its own similar projects to help the lagoon, Sanzone said.