A project to control severe erosion in the field between Nazareth Road and Old Nazareth Road was recently completed. The project was initiated because of erosion gullies, some 140+ ft. long and 12″ deep, which carried sediment down to Roadside Lake. This sediment built up over the years, filling in the eastern end of the lake and allowing the water primrose that grows on the lake to blanket the surface.
The solution was to bring in an expert in stream restoration: Thomas Biebighauser. Mr. Biebighauser has worked with Catholic congregations throughout the region and works internationally to create wetlands and streams. In a partnership between the Office of Ecological Sustainability and Nazareth Campus Service, Mr. Biebighauser was brought to Nazareth and taught us the techniques needed to widen the area around the erosion gullies to spread out the storm water runoff. Using SCN equipment and precision skill, Jason Hagan, Paul Haney, and Paul Underwood from the Grounds Department shaped the land, then embedded the fresh soil with rock so that when swift-moving storm water runs down the hill, the rocks will hold the soil in place. This mimics how a natural stream functions. The Grounds Department did this in three places in the field, then filled in a fourth gully with mixed-sized rock.
During a return visit, Mr. Biebighauser helped the Nazareth team construct a wetland in the same field to reduce stormwater runoff and improve wildlife habitat. The wetland, approximately 35′ by 25′, was dug using a bulldozer and backhoe. Logs from the downed trees on campus were added to provide places for amphibians to lay eggs and turtles to perch. When the wetland was completed, native prairie and cover crop seeds were dispersed along with straw to help hold the soil.