Volunteers plant a rain garden on the south side of Eads Hall on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis April 24. (From left): junior Paul Ahn; Phil Valko, director of sustainability; Will Fischer, sustainability coordinator; and Sonia Sequeira, graduate student at the Brown School. As part of Earth Day week activities, university staff, faculty and students were invited to help plant a rain garden (or bioswale) next to Eads Hall. Bioswales are sustainable forms of landscaping because they help to filter storm water and allow it to infiltrate into the soil, reducing runoff that strains regional sewers. Bioswales also feature native plants that need no chemical fertilizers or herbicides. The event was sponsored by Facilities Planning and Management, the Office of Sustainability and the student finalists of the Olin Sustainability Case Competition. (Credit: Kent Theiling)
