Engineers for a Sustainable World recently started a sustainability project that will plant a rain garden between Carver Hall and Music Hall to help reduce pollution in campus streams and creeks.
Engineers for a Sustainable World at Iowa State is a part of a national organization that mobilizes engineering students and professionals through local and global service projects to apply engineering skills to sustainability-related problems in the world.
“We meet as a general club but are really focused on getting our members involved in service projects,” said Sarah Maslo, club president and senior in chemical engineering. “We’re trying to keep the projects focused on sustainability.”
The anticipated planting date for the rain garden is April 19, 2014. A rain garden is essentially a planted hole that enables rainwater runoff from impenetrable surface areas, such as roofs, driveways, and parking lots, to soak into the ground instead of flowing across surfaces, which causes erosion.
If the first rain garden works out well, there are plans for possibly putting four or five more on different spots on campus.
Along with the rain garden project, the student organization will also be working on a solar street light to install on campus and a smart phone app that will help make students more aware of recycling areas on campus.
Read the full story here.