[one_fourth ][imageframe class=”acb-img-container float-right-container” ] Green streetscape being maintained in Lemoyne Borough, PA.The Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, working as a National Fish & Wildlife Foundation Technical Assistance Provider, worked with Lemoyne Borough to help residents to better understand green infrastructure–specifically the 18 raingardens and stormwater curb bump outs installed on Market Street, the small borough’s main thoroughfare.

Lemoyne Borough, a community of less than 5,000 residents, was one of the first Pennsylvania municipalities to embark on a green streetscape project of this magnitude. Completed in June 2010, the Lemoyne streetscape has been successful in calming vehicle traffic, making Market Street a more pedestrian friendly corridor, attracting interest in green infrastructure and stormwater, and acting as a showcase project for Central Pennsylvanian residents and adjacent communities. The 18 Best Management Practices (BMPs) consist of several rain gardens installed in the sidewalks of the main thoroughfare and also in-street stormwater bump outs that jut out from the curb to capturing fine dirt, trash and infiltrate polluted runoff through soil before entering storm sewers or the Susquehanna River. The planted areas also slow the flow of stormwater runoff and absorb nutrients through roots and leaves.[imageframe class=”acb-img-container float-right-container” ] Like many other communities introducing green practices across the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, Lemoyne Borough was faced with questions and complaints from residents who were used to seeing a close-clipped lawn or a bare sidewalk outside of their businesses.[imageframe class=”acb-img-container float-right-container” ] The Alliance started the project by designing and developing signs that explained how a raingarden works and their connection to water quality.

The Alliance and its partners, including the Penn State Extension Master Gardeners, the Yellow Breeches Watershed Association, and the Borough, organized a number of events and products, including

  • 3 Interpretative signs installed on Market Street
  • Develop a comprehensive maintenance manual for each raingarden and bump out
  • Conservation Landscaping brochures were designed, printed, and distributed in boxes attached to signs on Market Street and through the Borough
  • 11 Conservation Landscaping workshops held at the Fredrickson Library in Camp Hill
  • 2 tours/workshops conducted for the Mechanicsburg Environmental Center MS4 Youth Camps in June 2012, where campers removed litter from the rain gardens and learned about the connection between rain gardens and water quality
  • Monthly commitment from the Boy Scouts of America to clean up litter from the BMPs
  • 5 workday workshops for volunteers to learn about, clean, weed, and maintain the BMPs

[imageframe class=”acb-img-container float-right-container” ] Since their installation, the maintenance of the planted beds would rest primarily on volunteers and sometimes became a bit unwieldy. The Alliance partnered with LandStudies, Inc., a Lititz, PA based firm, to document planting plans and to develop a guide to help volunteers and borough staff maintain the BMPs.To download literature resources related to this project, please click on the links below.

Conservation Landscaping And Green Infrastructure Brochure

Lemoyne Streetscape BMP Maintenance Guide