East Hills Center (of the Universe)
1007 Lake Drive SE
Grand Rapids, Michigan
In the spring of 2005, West Michigan Environmental Action Council moved to the Center of the Universe.
Well, that IS what it's called! The rain garden program is now located in Grand Rapids' East Hills neighborhood, in a LEED-certified building at 1007 Lake Drive, SE. The new building provides everyone at WMEAC with lots of elbow room, with filing space we have never had before, and has given our entire organization more visibility. In our new GREEN office, we can demonstrate exactly the kind of lifestyle and workstyle that we have been talking about all these years. We are easy to find, and people have been finding us in record numbers. We have visitors every day we are open who want to see all the goodies we enjoy 
LEED Certified Building
The new building and office space are constructed entirely of non-toxic and recycled materials. Almost all of our new office furniture is either gently re-used or of recycled goods. The site is a restored brownfield and is the first zero stormwater discharge commercial site in Grand Rapids.
And we not only have a rain garden out back, we have a green roof up on top!
The building was designed and constructed by Bazzani Associates of Grand Rapids. They believe that building green is not just good for the environment, but good for business. Our building is new, but it looks like it has been on the corner of Lake Drive and Diamond for the last hundred years, because it was designed purposely to resemble the rest of the neighborhood. This kind of construction can renew and rejuvinate the older parts of a city, providing places to eat, work, and shop where people can easily walk to from home. Those who can't walk to our new office can take public transportation, because we have a bus stop out in front.
Stormwater On Site; Our Green Roof
The green roof handles just about 100% of the roof stormwater in the summer growing months; in the winter, any overflow travels to the rain garden. The roof is planted with sedum in an attractive geometrical pattern. Sedum is not native, but tough enough for droughts and freezing, flourishing in the summer and winter both.
We have access to the roof on a private stairway. On a hot summer day our roof is a cool place to be, with all that sedum transpiring away. The green roof insulates our office and will help us save money on heating and cooling costs. It also reduces the heat island created by all the building roofs and parking lots in the city that absorb and retain heat. Our roof is a green, green, cooling machine!
The Rain Garden
The rain garden design is non-traditional in order to handle the special needs of the site. The area that remained for the rain garden had to contain a lot of stormwater, so a two foot deep ponding area was sculpted from the replacement soil. The steep slopes created by doing this will eventually be stabilized by the perennial native and non-native plantings (designed by Terry Thompson of Rooks Landscaping, Ada).
In spite of some compaction of soils due to the construction equipment and grading, the soil was so well prepared for infiltration that the water soaked in quite well during the entire year before the plants were installed! This is a great poster child for how proper soil preparation can lead to excellent infiltration, even in an urban area. We will have more specific details available on the site preparation at a later date.
The plants in the rain garden are very beautiful, planted in large drifts for blocks of bright color. Large pots were planted for immediate beauty and function. We have never seen a rain garden go in so fast. It was instant rain garden in a box; just add water!
Natives in the rain garden are: Prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum), Bee balm (Monarda didyma), Culver's root (Veronocastrum virginicum), Brown-eyed susan (Rudbeckia triloba), False Dragonhead (Phystostegia virginiana), Switch Grass (Panicum virgatum), Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata--most plants are a white-blooming variety), Thread-leaved coreopsis (Coreopsis verticillata), Perennial sunflower (Helianthus), Starflower (Boltonia), and Liatris.
Non-natives are the common daylily (Hemerocallus fulga, chosen for its ability to hold soil), Chinese feather grass (Miscanthus), blue Agastache, Russian Sage (Perovskia), Siberian iris, and Sedum "Autumn Joy".
Natives are used in other areas of the site also. The shade tree for the back of the building is a river birch (Betula nigra). Low-grow fragrant sumac (Rhus aromatica) and little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) are planted in beds underneath.
Lessons learned:
People value non-native plants highly, and this preference should be respected.
We actively promote the use of native plants in the landscape, but people love non-natives as well. Both those who enjoy the landscaping and designers who have traditionally used non-natives want to see plants from other regions and countries in their rain garden, in addition to the natives we encourage. Because designers know their stuff, they often would rather use a plant they know from experience will serve their purpose, even though it may be listed on many invasive plant sites as undesirable.
We feel that in time landscapers will use more natives as they become familiar with their beauty and desirable characteristics, but they should at the same time not be disparaged for using a non-native plant that native plant enthusiasts feel should never be used, or from using a cultivar of a native. Unless a plant is something quite damaging to ecosystems, such as purple loosestrife is in the United States, it will probably combine well with the natives to make a beautiful and functioning rain garden without harming the environment. Sometimes a cultivar of a native is all that is available to the landscaper.
Proper soil preparation is essential.
Proved again at this site!
People do not understand what "Water plants until established" means.
Explain it to them; water, water, water. Go back and check to make sure they understood that they need to WATER. They might think the first couple of weeks is enough, and after that the hoses and sprinklers can be put away; not a good idea! The first year, those perennial roots have to work down into the soil. Water them even if they look like they are dead (they may be dormant!). Water them even if it looks like they don't need water.
Those who had been watering the plants in this rain garden decided, even though there was a drought this first year, that they didn't need to water the plants any more after a few weeks.
This is NOT the case! In order to thoroughly establish the plants, and especially the first year and/or if it does not rain, you MUST water the plants all growing season long, even into the fall. If the watering schedule is abandoned, be sure there is money available for replanting. You may need it!