This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Nov. 15, 2010 - Consider that many children living in St. Louis have very little connection with nature. Their experience is often limited to what they see on TV or the internet. Operation Brightside wants to change all of that by establishing a Demonstration Garden and Learning Center on one of the most-heavily traveled intersections in St. Louis.
At Kingshighway and Vandeventer, where 75,000 cars pass each day, Operation Brightside's garden will serve as a model of easily replicated conservation-friendly best practices. Moreover, visitors will be connected with the natural environment, have the opportunity to learn through formal workshops while interpretive signage will guide visitors and provide informal learning opportunities.
In any urban area, stormwater runoff often includes litter, pet waste, fertilizers, oil, grease, gasoline, road salts, pesticides and other household hazardous wastes. These pollutants will be filtered out through Low Impact Development Best Management Practices such as pervious asphalt, permeable pavers and porous concrete. Rain water, allowed to permeate into the ground rather than into the storm sewers, naturally filters out pollutants and helps recharge ground water.
Missouri native plantings require no fertilizers, pesticides or irrigation and help create a deep rich soil which absorbs and filters stormwater while providing natural habitat for birds and butterflies.
Currently there are examples of low impact best practices spread throughout the 61 square miles of the city of St. Louis. Operation Brightside will incorporate multiple techniques into one location. This will allow our partners (the state departments of Conservation and Natural Resources, MSD and Missouri Botanical Garden) to direct the public to this one easily-accessible and attractive green space to learn more about how these practices can help property owners save money and help protect our environment.
Operation Brightside, the region's oldest and most comprehensive cleaning and greening organization, has been selected to compete in the Pepsi Refresh Everything project. If Brightside wins, funds will go toward building this Demonstration Garden and Learning Center.
Refresh Everything is an online competition that awards grants to fund projects across the U.S. The two organizations with the most votes at the end of the month will receive $250,000. Votes may be cast at RefreshEverything.com/OperationBrightside.
Please join me in supporting Operation Brightside in this endeavor to bring Pepsi money to St. Louis to refresh the corner of Kingshighway and Vandeventer. I text my vote for 103342 to 73774 every day and tweet to my followers how important this is to St. Louis.
Francis G. Slay is mayor of St. Louis.