NORFOLK, Va. — The Chesapeake Bay Foundation worked with volunteers to combat flooding at a Norfolk elementary school Saturday, a spokesperson for CBF said.
Volunteers and CBF staff planted more than 300 native plants in a 50-foot-long bioswale aimed at soaking up floodwaters that disrupt students as they try to walk about the school, the spokesperson said.
"A bioswale is a low-lying area that collects rainwater and filters it through native plants before reaching a storm drain," the spokesperson said.
"In addition to reducing flooding, the plants in these gardens absorb and filter pollution before it reaches local waterways."
The bioswale will also beautify the area, create habitat for birds and butterflies, and reduce pollution to the Lafayette River and Chesapeake Bay, the spokesperson said.
The plants included: purple lovegrass, brown-eyed susan, little bluestem, and large-flowered aster.