November 10th, 2014

Founded in 1999, REEP Green Solutions is an environmental, non-profit organization empowering the Waterloo Region community towards healthier homes and sustainable living. REEP provides the services, tools and programs people need to use energy and water wisely.

REEP celebrated their 15th Anniversary at the Victoria Park Pavilion, and Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate Institute (KCI) received a RAIN award. RAIN is an urban stormwater education program delivered across Ontario by different regional organizations in an effort to safeguard surface and groundwater resources. The school was selected by RAIN’s expert panel as the winner of the RAIN community engagement award for Kitchener in 2014, also receiving an honourable mention in the RAIN retrofit category.

KCI has a sports field that is graded to drain excess water into grass ditches. The ditch to the southwest edge of the field directs water downhill to a storm drain that contributes volume and pollution to its receiving waterway.

Staff and students decided that they wanted to create additional gardens, a small patio and additional armour stone seating for spectators. To irrigate their new garden and trees they built a rain water harvesting system. This included a 4m x 5m permeable patio which used permeable interlocking pavers placed on a free-draining gravel base; a 12,000L below ground cistern which stores water for irrigation and uses an electric pump to draw for the cistern; and a 1,000L rain garden for rainwater to slowly soak into the ground helping to reduce the amount of run-off and pollutants reaching the stormwater drains and eventually the Grand River.

Pat Rittinger, the horticulture teacher at KCI and RAIN project lead, represented the school to receive the award.

To learn more about KCI’s RAIN project, visit The Umbrella website to read their RAIN Community Profile.

 

Construction of rain water harvesting system.

Construction of rain water harvesting system.

 

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Students taking part in putting together the permeable patio.

 

Finished patio with special thanks to all involved!

Finished patio with special thanks to all involved!