The LBCC Horticulture program has received a $3,630 grant from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board to help construct drainage canals and a rain garden on the Albany campus.

The plan is for drainage canals to carry rainwater from the student-run organic garden directly into a rain garden, said Stefan Seiter, LBCC horticulture instructor and project head.

The project encompasses 2,496 square feet at the northwest corner of the garden area, with a total estimated cost of $5,040. It will be used as a teaching and learning tool for students in horticulture, agriculture and biology programs at LBCC.

Students in the horticulture program plant and maintain the organic garden throughout the year.

The grant will help pay for excavation of the site to divert rainwater out of the garden. The addition of a rain garden — which will be planted with native water-loving plants and shrubs and a few trees — will help capture the runoff.

David Sandrock, owner of Sandrock Sustainable Landscapes in Corvallis, is consulting with students and staff on the project.

Democrat-Herald