Great Raindrop Scavenger Hunt - Bush's Pasture Park

Congratulations, you found stop #2! From here you have a beautiful view of the riparian area of Pringle Creek. Do you know what a riparian area is?

A riparian area is the area of land next to a water body. We also call this area a stream bank, riverbank, or shore. All water bodies have riparian areas, even puddles, oceans, wetlands, and lakes.  

Plants in riparian areas play an important role in protecting water quality by providing:

• Bank Stability: Plant roots prevent flooding and hold the soil in place so it does not wash away.  
• Shade: Thanks to tall trees, the water temperatures stay cooler for aquatic life. 
• Filtration: Plants and soil help filter water pollutants such as oil, grease, and toxins. 
• Wildlife Habitat: Plants provide cover, food, and a safe place to raise young.  

Question: Do you see any plants providing stability, shade, filtration, and habitat? 

• Learn more about streams and riparian areas:  Streams and Riparian Areas: Clean Water, Diverse Habitat   
• Check out the City of Salem’s  Free Tree Program  that provides free native plants to streamside residents to increase shade in riparian areas.
• Visit the  City of Salem’s Clean Streams website  for tips on how to protect local waterways.  
• How you manage your lawn at home can also impact local waterways. Get tips from:  What's Your Lawn Style? | OSU Extension Service (oregonstate.edu)  

Keep following this path along the creek.  Head south to the parking lot along Leffelle Street.  There is a garden built with stormwater in mind.  Stop at the rain garden sign you’ll find.  Managing runoff is this garden's feat.

In Western Oregon, known for its long rainy season, rain gardens and bioswales help manage the excess water and optimize aquatic habitat health. These landscaped areas are designed to capture and absorb rainwater runoff from nearby impervious surfaces, such as roofs and pavement. The plants and soil you see here have a similar role to the plants in the riparian area: they filter pollutants, create wildlife habitat, and help recharge groundwater aquifers by allowing water to percolate through the soil. This garden contains a mix of drought-tolerant native plant species, with Oregon Grape and red flowering currant at the top edge and water-loving sedges and rushes in the lower swale.

Rain gardens are situated in a depression in the ground and filled with soil and native plants that can tolerate both wet and dry conditions. Have you heard of bioswales? They are the cousins of rain gardens. Bioswales move water along a curved or straight path, allowing some water to infiltrate along the way; whereas rain gardens are bowl-shaped gardens that capture water and allow it to infiltrate on site.  The rain garden and bioswale here were established in 2011 and revegetated last season by team members from the City of Salem.

Question: What kind of pollutants do you think these plants are helping to filter? Do you recognize any of the plants in this rain garden? What do you wonder?  

• Reduces chances of flooding by absorbing rainwater from hard surfaces into the soil. 
• Filters pollutants such as oil, grease, and toxic materials that can pollute water ways. 
• Provides beneficial wildlife habitat with plant diversity and elevation interest to the landscape. 
• Recharges groundwater aquifers by allowing water to percolate through the soil. 
• Stormwater Credit: The City of Salem has a stormwater credit program available to some property owners to get a discount on their stormwater utility bill if practices such as rain gardens are implemented.  Find more information on the City of Salem’s website here . 

 Learn about rain garden construction - read this blog post from Marion SWCD .

The fourth stop on this quest is really not far.  Head west along the parking lot from where you are.  Towards a hill past the field this trail will lead you.    Stop where the way splits and one path becomes two.  From here you'll see woods, fields, and a place for your car.  

Great job, you found the next clue. This intersection is a great place to talk about two important topics- drinking water (yum!) and pet waste (yuck!).  

First, can you find a water fountain for a refreshing drink? This clean water comes from the North Santiam River. Before the water reaches the fountain, it has been tested and treated with ozone, slow sand filtration, and more to be safe to drink.  

We are fortunate to have the City of Keizer as our neighbor: their drinking water comes from ground water in deep wells. Due to the separate water sources, an emergency exchange program between the City of Keizer and the City of Salem is in place to allow the two cities to purchase and exchange water in case of emergency.

• Learn more about Salem’s Drinking Water:  Salem's Drinking Water | Salem, Oregon (cityofsalem.net)  
• Interested in having your water tested at home? Bring a sample to Water Lab Corporation  Waterlab Corporation - Professional Water testing in Oregon 

In this spot you also might notice a pet waste bag container, which is a great place to dispose of pet waste. Picking up pet waste and disposing of it in the trash helps protect our local waterways. Pet waste contains nutrients that cause algae blooms and can elevate bacteria levels in local streams, making the water unsafe for swimming.   

Question: Do you have a dog?

Take the  Capital Canine Club Pledge  and pledge to pick up your pet's waste to help keep our local streams clean. When you take the pledge you will get free pet waste bags and a holder mailed to you for FREE! 

To continue on it's your time to choose: Head west or curve north, which calls to you?  The next fountain for drinking is where you must go.  Just south of the derby track - go fast or go slow.  Now stroll through this garden and enjoy the view. 

Congratulations Great Rain Drop Detectives, you are close to your prize! Before you get there, look around you with your own two eyes. What do you see that is impressively tall? Well, these are mighty Oregon white oaks hiding a world to share with us all. These oak trees are heroes of ecosystem services such as supporting food webs, maintaining air and water quality, and contributing to local biodiversity. How many species do you think they support? The answer is over 250+ plant and wildlife species, including beneficial caterpillars, acorn woodpeckers, camas wildflowers and more.

In addition to supporting a variety of species, oak trees support you by helping keep our park cool on hot summer days. Transpiration is the process of roots taking up water from the soil and moving through the plant to help it function, then leaving from the plant’s leaves as water vapor.  This creates a wonderful cooling effect that an artificial shade structure can’t replicate. Do you seek out shade on a hot summer day? Thanks to these oak trees, Bush's Pasture Park has cool shade for all. 

• Learn about  Willamette University’s Growing Oaks project  which is growing acorns into saplings to be planted around Willamette’s campus and other public and private properties around Salem. 
• Have you ever wanted to try germinating an acorn yourself?  Check out this guide  starting on page 8 to learn more.  
• If you have an oak tree, it is important to respect its root zone. Tilling and disturbing the soil near oak tree roots will reduce the tree’s capability to take up water and nutrients. The  Salem Art Fair  is now located away from the trees in the nearby grassy field to help protect these trees that are hundreds of years old.  
• Do you have an Oregon white oak tree at home? If so, avoid watering lawns underneath oaks to maintain tree health. Established oaks are adapted to summer drought and do not require watering. In fact, irrigation may lead to root rot and disrupt acorn production.  Learn more here  on how to protect Oregon white oak trees in urban and suburban landscapes.  
• Learn about the benefits of trees, tree care resources, Salem tree regulations, and more on the  City of Salem’s Urban Forest webpage .

The final stop on this quest is next on the list. Art, roses, and history you’ll need to resist.  Seek the glass building that keeps plants warm  So cold winter weather can do them no harm  ‘Round back by the storage shed the treasure box can't be missed.