Projects
Plaster Creek Stewards engages in projects that help clean the water, restore relationships, and create beauty throughout the Plaster Creek Watershed. We do this in partnership with other organizations, watershed residents, volunteers, and businesses. Below are some of our past and current projects.
Floodplain restorations
PCS restores floodplains next to our waterways to stabilize eroded stream banks and create space for waterways to spread out and slow down, decreasing flooding and lowering the amount of sediment in the water. Native floodplain plants help to filter out pollutants and prevent erosion while providing rich habitat for native wildlife. Learn more about floodplain restoration in Rainscaping.
Shadyside Park
Shadyside Park in Dutton, Michigan marks where runoff from agricultural fields, yards and roads converges to form the main channel of Plaster Creek. Because the natural floodplain had been removed, rain would gush through this section of the creek, causing severe erosion of the banks, adding sediment to the water, and increasing flooding for downstream communities.
PCS, in partnership with Kent County Parks, MDEQ, and other partners, excavated the steep banks at Shadyside into a more natural floodplain. The route of the water was shifted to make the stream meander back and forth instead of gush in a straight line. The stream banks were reinforced with the deep roots of Michigan native plants and over 200 native trees, planted with the help of hundreds of volunteers. Over the years this space has grown into a beautiful area to walk through and enjoy, as well as a home to pollinators, birds, and other wildlife.
This project has been funded wholly or in part through Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Nonpoint Source Program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Leisure Creek Condos
Located downstream from Shadyside Park, the creek banks at Leisure Creek Condominium Association suffered from many of the same issues as other locations along Plaster Creek—excessive erosion and steep banks because the creek had become disconnected from floodplain habitats it used to overflow into.
Upstream of the bridge, we excavated and gently sloped the steep banks along the south side of the creek to recreate a natural, healthy flood shelf and stable creek banks. Two years later, this was also done downstream of the bridge on both the north and south banks. These flood shelves now provide room for the creek to overflow onto the shelf when water level rises. Local school students, residents, Calvin University staff and students, and volunteers from all over the watershed planted thousands of Michigan native plants to help clean the water and provide important habitat for native animals.
This project has been funded wholly or in part through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy’s Nonpoint Source Program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Calvin Avenue Basin
Silver Creek is a tributary of Plaster Creek that runs almost entirely underground. The original overflow basin was designed in 1994 to address flooding and storm sewer surges. As a mowed grass basin, it would hold excess water during and after large rain storms to ease the water pressure on the underground pipe. However, this did very little to address water quality in the stream.
The Silver Creek Overflow Basin is now engineered with a two-stage ditch and “pits and mounds”. The creek now has room to spread out, capture stormwater and allow it to slow down and soak in the ground. 107 species of Michigan native plants help absorb water and filter contaminants, reducing flooding and pollution farther downstream. This space also provides much-needed green habitat in an urban area with little green space. It is a haven for birds, pollinators, small mammals, and aquatic creatures.
This project is part of a network of green infrastructure projects by local partners including Calvin University Plaster Creek Stewards, Kent County Drain Commission, the Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds, and Grand Rapids Christian High School. The project was funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded to the Grand Valley Metropolitan Council.
Kreiser retention pond
This large ponded bioswale slows and filters 350 acres worth of stormwater from the neighborhood streets upstream. The surrounding banks and peninsula are planted with native trees and wetland plants that purify the stormwater while also providing habitat to native birds, insects and other wildlife. While this area is fenced off to the public for safety reasons, some school groups have had permission to visit and use the area as an outdoor classroom, even in the wintertime.
This project has been funded wholly or in part through Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Nonpoint Source Program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Bioswales
Bioswales are large-scale rain gardens designed – often by engineers – for heavy-duty stormwater management. They typically have an overflow option to a storm drain and are used to collect stormwater from a large area like a parking lot. Learn more about bioswales in Rainscaping.
Whiskey Creek Bioswale
This multi-tiered bioswale receives the stormwater from a 2-acre parking lot at Calvin University. The stormwater previously rushed into Whiskey Creek, a tributary to Plaster Creek, causing serious erosion and carrying chemicals and sediment that accumulated on the parking lot. Now, the stormwater slowly travels through a long, s-curved swale full of thirsty native plants and trees. Any extra water must rise to the level of a spillover pipe before entering a wetland where it can be slowly released to the creek. This site has a trail network that visitors can hike on to see the bioswale as part of their visit to the Calvin University Ecosystem Preserve and Native Gardens.
This project has been funded wholly or in part through Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Nonpoint Source Program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Residential projects
Turning their spaces into ecosystems, some homeowners are welcoming biodiversity into their communities. Whether it's Kentucky bluegrass transformed to prairie, a soggy wet area into a wetland, a parkway into a curb cut rain garden, or a creekside lawn into a restored floodplain, each site requires its own restoration “prescription” determined by soils, sun, and hydrology. We work with each homeowner to come up with a design plan and work with summer research students to implement these projects.
Curb-cut rain gardens
Individual residential rain gardens throughout southeast Grand Rapids capture and filter stormwater off the streets. Catching sediment and pollutants flowing in the runoff water, the rain gardens filter through the ground, slowing and cooling it before it finally reaches the creek. These rain gardens are also a source of habitat and diversity – a way to welcome nature back to our urban spaces. To see some of these gardens, we recommend you take a drive or walk down Paris Avenue, Jefferson or Hobart to see a great variety!
This project has been funded wholly or in part through Michigan Department of Environmental Quality’s Nonpoint Source Program by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Parkway pocket gardens
Similar to curb-cut rain gardens, parkway pocket gardens are designed for areas between the sidewalk and street, but without the cut in the curb. These are often in areas where the lay of the land or soil type will not work for capturing lots of water from the street. Instead, they may catch water coming off a yard or sidewalk. Apply today to see if your site qualifies for a parkway pocket garden.
Currently, there is a waiting list for free gardens, but if your site qualifies and funding becomes available, we will contact you for next steps. Homeowners can also contact Plaster Creek Stewards to install a parkway pocket garden for a reasonable fee.