A group of local officials and volunteers are working to ensure Depot Park blooms majestically this spring and summer.
As part of the Depot Park Environmental Project, members of the Clarkston City Council, River of Life Group of St. Daniel’s Church, North Oakland Headwaters Land Conservancy and other area volunteers have met four times since the turn of the year, according to council member Jim Brueck. The group hopes two grants currently in the works will help fund much of the improvement.
New additions to the park may include, a rain garden, more areas of natural plantings to prevent run off and erosion and a bridge across the park’s stream. Natural or native plantings are species that occur in the region in which they evolved.
‘It grew from our little (River of Life) project in Depot Park to see what we can do for the rest of the village to improve water quality and runoff,? said Clarkston resident and River of Life volunteer Anne Clifton.
Township board members Jim Brueck and Cory Johnston became involved in January when Clifton approached the board at a meeting asking for representatives to join the group. Members of council were needed in order to be eligible for certain grants.
According to Brueck, one grant to the Oakland Native Partnership Initiative for $750 was filed on Feb. 12. The grant is intended to pay for the native plantings and other measures to prevent run off as well as promote public awareness about protecting water and shorelines.
Johnston says he hopes to apply for at least one more grant specifically to fight soil erosion in the near future.
‘We found many areas of concern with runoff that fit right in with what we had to do as a government and what I think people in the area want,? said Johnston. ‘We want to do work in the park because it’s a great place to demonstrate the techniques and because of events held there like Concerts in the Park.?
Johnston and Brueck both agreed, the efforts coincided nicely with what area municipalities have to do to protect the Clinton River Watershed and could stand as a educational example for residents.
‘We’re all within the Clinton River Watershed and this project fit right in with my objective to do what we could do to protect the watershed,? said Brueck.
‘The beauty is we cannot only protect the water in the park, but make it a focal point of the village and the township so people can come out and take these ideas back down to their waterfront in the watershed,? he added.
‘It makes sense to do something upriver to help wetlands downriver in the park. We have a lot of parking lots and roads that drain into the river so it makes sense to try to keep the contaminants out,? said Johnston.
Clifton said strategic native plantings along the river bank and near city hall will help prevent runoff from nearby roads and parking lots. A rain garden, for instance, is a set of native plantings that provide filtration and allow water to soak into the ground cleaning it in the process, explained Clifton.
Also volunteering her time is landscape architect and Independence Township resident Colleen Schmidt. She has helped create a master plan for the park using native plantings. Schmidt explained that native plantings create a buffer zone along the stream and other areas, contributing to the natural beauty and diversity of the park while improving water quality.
In addition to the native plantings, the Clarkston Farm and Garden Club’s proposed Dandelion Bridge across the park’s stream behind the gazebo to the playground is in the fund-raising process. The club received board approval to proceed with the bridge from the village council in July 2005. According to a presentation made to the council, funds donated in memory of longtime Clarkston resident Daisy Dowling will be used to springboard the bridge. The bridge has an estimated cost $150,000.