We are sustainability-minded landscape architects who are working to put our knowledge of green infrastructure into the hands of the community.

We have developed a modular square-foot sized garden kit that will reduce stormwater runoff when installed over impermeable surfaces such as asphalt or concrete. We call this kit the “Square-Foot Stormwater Garden”.

The kits are intended to be installed vertically on underutilized surfaces, such as chain link fence. We are reaching out to Brooklyn schools to begin the installation of these miniature stormwater capturing interventions. Educational environments provide the optimal learning lab for a new generation of green infrastructure enthusiasts. The kits are intended to be small-scale teaching tools that the students themselves can build, test, and monitor. As a result, this easily assembled, build-it-yourself approach provides experiential hands-on learning through a process and scale that students can take ownership and be proud of.

Each module can absorb about .5 gallons of rain (the first inch that falls onto it in a storm) that would otherwise discharge into the Gowanus Watershed’s combined sewer system, continuing to negatively impact combined sewer overflows (CSOs). In addition to reducing stormwater runoff, the kits have co-benefits including carbon sequestration, urban heat island mitigation, reduced energy demand, improved air quality, and increased urban habitat for pollinators.

An installation of a large number of kits can illustrate to our community that each effort, no matter how small, contributes to the greater, greener solution.