Private Residence depaving & Conservation Landscape Beds
Location: Newark, Delaware (New Castle County)
Installed: 2022
Partners: White Clay Watershed Association, Plant Lady Lucy, LLC.
Funding Support: White Clay Wild and Scenic River Funding via the Catch the Rain Program, Homeowners
This private residence reflects a comprehensive conservation landscaping initiative undertaken through the White Clay Creek Watershed Association's Catch the Rain (CTR) program. The 0.36-acre property in Newark, Delaware, had limited native vegetation, bare-soil erosion zones, and an expansive impervious patio. Working with White Clay Watershed Association the owners undertook a full lawn-to-native-planting conversion to restore ecological function, reduce stormwater runoff, and beautify the property. The project replaced traditional turf with a diverse palette of native groundcovers, perennials, shrubs, and canopy trees selected to thrive in the site's conditions. On-contour swales, berms, and check dams installed on the southwestern slope to slow sheet flow, reduce soil erosion, and promote infiltration into the ground rather than runoff toward impervious surfaces.
