Go Big! Drake's Harkin Center - Phase 2

After the first stormwater basin was renovated, a bigger portion of the remaining original design was slated for renovation the following year.  The West entrance featured double stormwater collection basins with a curved sidewalk to the parking area.

Harkin Center ph2 the following May

Again, Kelly Norris was tasked with reimagining the space to take it the next level, and Abundant Design was chosen as the contractor.   Originally the surrounding areas were planted with prairie dropseed and echinacea, with sedges in the basin floors.  

Before pics

Most of the existing plants were removed.  The basin sedges were left in place, but we did get some of the weeds removed.  The turf lawn was removed, from the existing planted space to the west parking lot; this ground was so hard we tore up two sodcutters and had to use the tooth bucket on our Dingo™ to remove the turf grass.  

Many of these plants ended up transplanted at Sprout, between the garden fence and parking area.  Another bunch of them were donated to the DMACC Food Forest and Learning Garden to fill in some gaps.  

We also removed the turf from the open space south of the main entry lobby.

That's a LOT of plants!

The layout begins... yep, that's a lot of plants...

Planting, planting and more planting!

Just keep planting!  Time is short, called in a few reinforcements for the weekend.

Watering - Again this project was late in the season, but watering new plantings is critical to success.

Long days made for some late watering

Planting completed, but it was late enough in the season that any visual impact would just have to be anticipated...

After winter the plants were coming up nicely by May.  Several of the evergreens didn't make it however, guessing due to the late season planting and the drying winds funneled up University Avenue.  We replaced those as needed.

By year two the space is looking absolutely spectacular!

For MORE AMAZING PICTURES Visit Kelly's Project Page Here

Harkin Institute — Kelly D. Norris (kellydnorris.com) 

Drake's Harkin Institute

This project was one of several projects that came after we relocated the Sprout Garden and installed the Drake Food Forest.  The Tom and Ruth Harkin Center was initially designed and built to bring an innovative mixture of accessibility and sustainability to the campus experience.  It serves a place for, despite the name, non-partisan research and outreach around policy issues important to Senator Harkin.

Asters blooming as the planting was finished

The stormwater design was functional but never really blossomed.  So, in the summer of 2021, Kelly Norris was commissioned for reimagining the space and what it could be.  Abundant Design was contacted shortly thereafter to collaborate on the installation to bring the first 2000sf renovation to life.

Kelly Norris and Jeff Reiland

Step one was to remove the existing prairie dropseed and white blooming echinacea to prepare the area prior to new plant delivery.  Some of these were relocated to the Sprout rain garden/contour swales.

After the plants were laid out it was time to get planting! #thatsalotofplants

This late in the year my seasonal help had all gone back to school... but my auger in combination with the amended soil helped!  #justkeepplanting

The high planting density will ensure faster establishment and easier maintenance

This new plant selection with ~30 different species and varieties will provide spectacular color, diversity and full season interest for staff, students and visitors.  

A sleeping Monarch... better get a move on!

Once everything was planted, we used our tripod sprinkler setup to keep it watered for the first couple weeks even though it was getting quite cold some of the nights.

This planting was even highlighted in this article 

Greater Des Moines Eco-Friendly Gardens (dsmpartnership.com)

Here is a photo from July of the following year

It was really hitting it stride this summer!

"The Ruth Harkin Garden at The Harkin Institute on Drake University's campus, a living model for how bioswales can look and function in the urban landscape. I'm proud of this #planting we did in 2021, the first of two phases of this project, completed in 2022. 

We can partner with plant life for a more verdant, diverse, and complex ecosystem within the envelope of human activities. Living infrastructure can only fulfill its promise when plants are in the lead. While the concept gets a lot of air time these days, the results often lack vibrant vegetation. We hope this project serves as an example for why initial plant diversity and density matters."  Kelly Norris

Watch for the Phase 2 update!

Easter Lake Rain Campaign Video

Here's a fun video we helped make with the Rain Campaign to showcase rain gardens as a Stormwater Best Management Practice.  Their videos help encourage homeowners to consider rain gardens and other best management practices to help with stormwater runoff mitigation and to help them with potential problems in their own yards - erosion, soggy areas, etc.

We had already been working with the homeowners in conjunction with the Easter Lake Watershed coordinator to help them with their yard issues and reduce the storm surge into the lake.  The following pictures show the flooding and poor drainage they were dealing with in their yard.  You can also see Easter Lake behind the trees and shrubs.

Their pipe was a short-term fix, and definitely not their favorite.

Watch the video here, with project photos following.

Rain Gardens (youtube.com)

The laser level helps us get the grading just right

Berms constructed, amended soil blend added

Mulching the fresh planting helps retain soil moisture and will feed the soil as it breaks down.  The basins are mulched lightly to prevent smothering of young plants when the basin fills and empties.

 

After photos of the dry stream which collects and moves rainwater from the downspouts to the basin.

The basin captures and infiltrates the first 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" of any rain event.  90% of historical rains for our area are under this amount. If we get more rain than that, the excess will be slowed and filtered through the native plants, and slowly go over the armored overflow.

Rain Garden - After

This picture is from the second year, and you can see the plant growth, adaptation and personal touches.  We designed the planting to be shade tolerant initially, yet take advantage of the future sunshine too - the park was planning restoration of the native savannah surrounding the lake.  Lots fewer, but quality tree species.

This year (year 3) we were doing another project nearby and were invited to come check it out.  After 2 years you can see continued adaptation and growth (although earlier in the season), and we happened to catch it filled with rain.

Stay tuned for more videos!