The Mesa County Libraries Discovery Garden is growing a bounty of produce this year.
The Mesa County Libraries Foundation has received a $5,000 grant from the Western Colorado Community Foundation to fund the construction of unique water conservation structures called “bioswales” in the library’s Discovery Garden at Fifth Street and Chipeta Avenue in downtown Grand Junction.
Bioswales are water channels that slow and naturally filter stormwater from an area, thus improving the quality of excess runoff. Bioswales are an environmentally smart solution for stormwater management and will provide additional irrigation for the Discovery Garden.
The Mesa County Libraries Discovery Garden is a series of interactive and demonstration gardens that provide education, food, respite, and community engagement. A variety of gardening techniques are modeled, including xeric, raised bed, in-ground farming, pollinator, and permaculture design.
Plans include a variety of demonstration gardens, a children’s garden, community food plots, a pollinator garden, and a compost facility. The Discovery Garden serves as a space where people gather for educational programs and events.
The Discovery Garden relies on volunteers and is an exciting way for the community to become more involved in gardening and to learn about different gardening techniques and outdoor-related topics.
“We deeply appreciate the support of the Western Colorado Community Foundation in our continuing development of the Discovery Garden,” said Karen Kllanxhja, development director for Mesa County Libraries. “Not only will this project improve the quality of stormwater runoff from the Discovery Garden, but it will serve as a demonstration of how bioswales can be incorporated into landscape design. We invite the community to join us in learning from this project and many others in the garden.”
The award to the library foundation was one of 15 grants totaling $100,000 to protect and enhance the environment announced Sept. 16 by the Western Colorado Community Foundation. The community foundation serves seven counties in western Colorado, managing charitable funds for community good. It managed more than 265 charitable funds totaling nearly $80 million in assets and awards more than $3.4 million in grants and scholarships annually.
More information about bioswales is available at the following links:
https://hgic.clemson.edu/factsheet/an-introduction-to-bioswales/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioswale