Storm Water Mitigation at Minnetrista
Muncie is making its mark in the Midwest as an eco-friendly city and Minnetrista’s work in storm water mitigation is a big part of these efforts! Minnetrista is known in East Central Indiana for its historic gardens and beautiful landscaping. It is apparent to many who visit that Minnetrista goes above and beyond in our care for the gardens and our emphasis on nature preservation. However, Minnetrista has a few environment-loving hidden gems that many in the general public may not yet be aware of!
Minnetrista has always strived to help the environment. Even after so much of our campus was teeming with gardens and natural life, Minnetrista made a major step forward in by becoming the first location in Muncie to plant a green roof system! A green roof system is a space on the roof of a building covered with vegetation working to absorb heat and help mitigate storm water runoff among other benefits. With an enormous center building and empty roof space, the opportunity was perfect for this sort of initiative. This idea was put into action in 2008 when two green roof systems were installed on portions of the main building roof. A third system was also added later in 2013 after seeing the success of the previous two. You can find these green roof systems blossoming and watch them through huge windows on the second floor of our main building. Other Muncie locations have since followed suit, Indiana University Ball Memorial Hospital and Open Door Health Services are the two other locations in the community that now grow and nurture their own green roof systems. Minnetrista hopes to inspire others to use the available space around them in unique ways that give back to our environment.
The green roof systems help with stormwater mitigation and act as a filter to clean and slow down storm water runoff. Rain gardens are another resource that helps in these efforts. Rain gardens not only provide new homes for plants and wildlife, but also act as a filter for excess water. These gardens can be designed for all different sizes and areas. The Minnetrista rain garden occupies 6,200 square feet and is designed to hold water up to two days before slowly releasing and filtering it back into the soil. The rain garden is located on the East Lawn and available for guests to visit throughout the year.
Even though these gardens may be off the beaten path, they are continuing to be have astounding impacts on our environment. The green roof systems and rain garden are some of the unsung heroes of Minnetrista.
To learn more about our efforts to create a better world and how you can do your part, visit our gardens page. And for more helpful tips and information on storm water management, visit munciesanitary.org.
