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Stormwater Education Coordinator Sierra Stickney (Resilience Corps NC AmeriCorps member) made the trip west this week to check in on stormwater projects completed last year at Vance-Granville Community College.

She said the projects are working for water quality — and providing some campus beautification.

“I was very pleased to see that the rain garden plants are healthy and growing,” Sierra said. “I noticed a plant that appears to be a Swamp azalea was in bloom! This will be a great spot for pollinators when the rain garden is more mature.”

The regenerative stormwater conveyance system installed in late 2024 is now doing the job for which it was intended. The RSC consists of a series of pools staggered down a hillside to prevent erosion from a campus-draining stormwater pipe.

“The grass is growing tall and the RSC working for water quality — the pools were filled with water, as they should be to slow the water down, spread it out and soak it in,” Sierra said.

Finally, Sierra inspected the recently repaired stormwater pipe on the campus. The previous break had caused severe erosion, forming a large ditch at the outfall. 

“Now that the pipe is fixed, this erosion issue is resolved. As an additional measure, plants have been established above the pipe to further control pollution and erosion, and the ditch has been filled with dirt and rock,” she said. “I’ll also note that the pipe leads to a beautiful wetland area and the pond on campus.”

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Resilience Corps NC AmeriCorps is a service program of the Conservation Trust for North Carolina, funded by a grant through the North Carolina Governor’s Commission on Volunteerism.