What was the initial impetus for creating the garden? Was there an existing problem on site? 
The school had purchased several properties on the south side of campus for construction of a field hockey field, a parking lot, and a theater. MSD required additional detention of water and JBS decided to use of exiting 0.38 acre pond. In 2006, the school partially drained Laughing Lake (our pond) to facilitate dam repair, giving the students the opportunity to return the pond to its natural state and then study its progression through its natural stages of succession. After building the Clayton Road parking lot in 2007, architects designed a plant and soil based infiltration/filtration facility for parking lot runoff that drains into Laughing Lake. In order to keep the pond healthy for student study the school made a commitment to construct a biorentention system to protect the pond and provide for detention of storm water run-off.

Student Planting

How much of the project was student driven? How much of the student body is actively involved?
Under my direction the students in my senior-level Advanced Biology: Ecology and Conservation class selected Missouri native plants suitable for the site. (See planting plan)   Students researched and selected grasses and wildflowers that help prevent evapotranspiration, enhance soil composition, encourage biological activity, and promote the removal of pollutants before stormwater enters our pond.  Students also selected plants that would thrive in the varying conditions of the bioretention system, would provide food and shelter for wildlife, and would be attractive for the campus.   Students in my class have been monitoring the site since 2007 - soil tests, pond water tests, and biodiversity indices. Our 7th grade Life Science and 9th grade Biology students also monitor the pond and bioretention system on a less frequent basis.

Was there anything specific about the site that was challenging?   

Bioretention System

The space provided for the bioretention area was probably the most challenging aspect.  The limited space
increased the cost of the project as did the time demands in getting the project finished.  More space would have allowed for more berms and a more gradual slope with more plants to soak up runoff.

What sources did you investigate when deciding which plants to include?
Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Wildflowers Nursery, Missouri Department of Conservation (http://www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/plantpage/flora/roadwild/), Missouri Wildflower Guide, and Prairie Nursery in Wisconsin.

Is there anything in addition to the Sustainable Sites information that you'd like us to know in regards to the project?

My students and I have done most of the monitoring and plantings for the bioretention system.  Margaret Bahe, our science department chairperson, was instrumental in getting the project started and applying for the Sustainable Sites recognition.  Our former headmaster Keith Shahan committed to the building of the bioretention system.  Ed Phillips and the rest of the maintenance staff should be commended for their help during the construction and planting phases.  The bioretention system was made possible in part by a gift from the E. E. Ford Foundation in memory of Julia Ford Menard (JBS class of 1941).

For more on John Burroughs and why they were chosen by the Sustainable Sites Initiative, visit, http://www.sustainablesites.org/cases/show.php?id=19.
 
For more info on the integration of the system with the curriculum, visit http://science.jburroughs.org/sdeken/bioretention.htm