In June 2008, members of Good Shepherd Catholic Church undertook the project of installing a rain garden in order to control an erosion problem created from rainwater flowing off the roof. The rain garden captures the rainwater and allows it to be taken up by the plants or filter into the ground. Responding to a request from parishioner, Janet Kurisko, Associate Pastors Pat and Bill Beckett organized the project as part of the parish’s Green Team ministry, which addresses environmental issues. The church is located at 4665 Thomasville Road and the rain garden is situated at the front on a gentle slope that receives heavy foot traffic.
Because the congregation is very large, Good Shepherd is blessed with a wealth of talent. FAMU faculty members, Dr. Fred Lorenzo, Ph.D. in landscape design and management, and Yun Cao, landscape architect, were responsible for the design of the garden, which is in the shape of a fish, the symbol of Christ. The fish is oriented to appear to be swimming upward toward the sanctuary.
The Becketts recruited twenty parishioners to dig and plant the rain garden, beginning early in the morning on June 28th to avoid the heat. Plants were carefully selected for the ability to absorb the water and hold the soil in place. The mulch layer keeps the garden soil moist and protects against extremes in heat and cold. Pink Muhly grass was planted in the tail to give the illusion of motion when the plants are mature and a Fringe tree placed in the position of the eye. Other plantings included blue-eyed grass, Stoke’s dwarf yaupon holly, wild indigo, cinnamon fern, and rain lilies. The berm was adequately high and wide at the base to insure stability. The following day, the property received a gully-washing rainstorm, and the garden was put to the test. It performed admirably and the berm slowed the flow and captured the rainwater from the roof.
“Gardens are so meditative and spiritual,” Janet Kurisko said. “You see them often at hospitals and other places of health and wellness. This one is in front of the church, which is a good position for people to see as they come here. I’m so glad Good Shepherd is the one to spearhead this.”
The project was funded in part by the first non-residential rain garden grant from the TAPP Campaign of the City of Tallahassee Stormwater Management Group. Such grants are available only to nonprofit institutions to establish demonstration rain gardens.