This summer the Winooski NRCD and UVM Extension Lake Champlain Sea Grant partnered to hold the 2008 Vermont Rain Garden Contest, the first of its kind in the state. A rain garden is an attractive, landscaped garden that is used to treat stormwater runoff (water generated from rain fall or snowmelt), usually from a roof, parking lot, or other impervious surface. The goal of the Contest was to encourage the installation of rain gardens to reduce stormwater runoff and improve water quality in the Lake Champlain Basin, and in particular, in stormwater-impaired streams in Chittenden County. Participants of the Contest received a copy of the Vermont Rain Garden Manual, were invited to attend rain garden workshops and installations, and received on-site technical assistance, all free of charge. Eighteen residents, municipalities, and businesses were judged as part of the Rain Garden Contest, thirteen of whom installed a rain garden on their property this summer. In addition, over 75 people attended rain garden workshops and hands-on demonstration installations, which were led by UVM Extension and the WNRCD.

In early September volunteer judges visited the gardens in the contest and selected the following nine gardens, which stood out in various categories, as winners of the 2008 Vermont Rain Garden Contest:

• Originality: Marianne Blanchard (resident in Grand Isle)

• Native Plants: Charlie Farmer and members of the UVM American Water Resources Association Student Chapter (UVM Hospital site, Burlington)

• Best Stormwater Reduction: Jeff Rouleau (resident in St. Albans)

• Best Previously Installed: Jim Foster (resident in Winooski)

"Best Stormwater Reduction", St. Albans•

• Best in Chittenden County - Non-residential: Laura Koloski, Terra-Nova Sadowski, and Jen Mills (UVM Horticulture Farm, South Burlington)

• Best in Chittenden County - Residential: Liz Royer, Eric Howe, and Carrie Howe (residents of Williston)

• Best outside of Chittenden County: Jeff Young (Northwestern Medical Center, St. Albans)

Honorary Mention:

• Best re-use of stormwater: Kimberley Beal (resident in Winooski)

• Best rain garden education and outreach: Lani Siefert and Marge McIntosh (Smugglers' Notch)

The 9 contest winners will receive prizes that were generously donated by the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, Shelburne Farms, City Market/Onion River Co-op, Lake Champlain Chocolates, American Flatbread, Gardener's Supply Company, Intervale Conservation Nursery, and Intervale Compost Products. The contest was also supported by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, South Burlington High School, Williston in Bloom, and Marijke's Perennial Gardens Plus.

Williston Hills Gully Stabilization Project

In 2005, during the development of a Department of Environmental Conservation sponsored watershed improvement plan for the Allen Brook, Natural Resources Conservation Service staff observed significant sediment loading into the Brook from three gullies. These gullies, located in Williston, are a result of untreated stormwater generated from a neighborhood development established in the 1960’s, before stormwater regulations. In 2006, the Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District began efforts to reduce sediment and phosphorus loading into Allen Brook through stabilizing these gullies – Gullies A, B, and C - in Williston Hills. Improving water quality in the Allen Brook is particularly important, as it is included in the State’s 2006 list of impaired waters due to stormwater runoff. This project has made a significant contribution towards the goal of meeting State and Federal water quality standards for Allen Brook.

Construction for Gullies A and B occurred in the fall of 2007. Construction for the largest of the three gullies, Gully C, began in September 2008 and will be completed this fall. In November 2008, the site was re-vegetated with 185 trees and more than 400 shrubs from local nurseries.

The Winooski NRCD’s primary partners in the stabilization of Gully C include: the Town of Williston, Dubois & King, Inc., Desroches Construction Services Inc., Bear Creek Environmental, LLC., and Intervale Conservation Nursery. We are very grateful to Williston Hills’ landowners for their support of this project. Finally, the Winooski NRCD would like to thank those who have provided financial support to this project including: the Vermont DEC, the Agency of Transportation, the Better Back Roads Program, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Lintilhac Foundation.

Construction at Gully C, October 2008