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Category:
Implemented Retrofit |
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| Description | ||||
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The wetland garden’s origins began at the 1997 Philadelphia Flower show as the Ambler exhibit called “Green Machine,” which demonstrated native plants’ natural ability to cleanse fouled water. This award-winning exhibit was salvaged from the show and was installed on campus by students in 1998 as the newest addition to the Landscape Arboretum of Temple University Ambler. Swales and gutters were constructed to guide stormwater run-off from nearby buildings into the wetland garden. Five different topographic zones with different moisture levels are represented in the conception of the wetland. Plant varieties were picked by their adaptability to these topographic conditions, for their aesthetic value and for their benefits to local wildlife. For a plant list click here. A solar pergola was used to create the impression of enclosure within the wetland. Photo-voltaic panels frame the pergola and power a pump that circulates fountain water through an aerial aqueduct. Recycled glass, called cullet, is used as exposed paving. The benefit of this wetland garden can be summarized in ecological, hydrologic, and aesthetic terms. Rose Creek used to take the grunt of the area’s stormwater runoff, which caused erosion on its streambeds and sedimentation. The installation of a wetland garden has downgraded the hazards of flooding. Run-off from surrounding impervious surfaces normally would bombarding the shallow creek beds with insupportable stormwater velocity. This wetland garden collects rainwater from 5 surrounding acres and recharges the local hydrologic system. Native plants in the garden have extensive root systems that absorb more water than traditional sod. Water quality is also improved since the plants have the natural ability to filter pollutants before replenishing local water tables. The site where the
wetland garden now stands was previously not more than a mud puddle. The
excess of 300 plant varieties now serve as habitat for animal life and
insects, while it provides a beautiful and quiet site of repose for
students. Students benefit also from ongoing research on the site, where
they study the ability of plants to break down pollutants, plant species
survival rates, water quality and erosion amelioration in connection
with Rose Creek, and other ecological variables. |
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| Location | ||||
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County:
Upper Dublin County, Montgomery County Temple Ambler is located at 580 Meetinghouse Road in the borough of Ambler, a suburb of Philadelphia. The Ambler campus is home to Temple’s Horticulture, Community and Regional Planning, and Landscape Architecture departments. Rose Creek, a tributary to Wissahickon Creek, flows through the landscape of the Ambler Campus. The wetland garden is
located down a flight of stairs from the plaza between Widener Hall and
Cottage Hall. Within the lush verdure immerges a small courtyard where
visitors can sit and listen to the sound of the birds and rushing water
from a sculpture fountain. The wetland garden will be the focus of
academic study for years to come.
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| Partners | ||||
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Temple University
Ambler,
the
Department of Landscape Architecture and Horticulture |
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| Cost | ||||
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Unavailable |
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| Contact | ||||
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Linda
Palmarozza |
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