Sandy Spring Friends Meeting Green Infrastructure

Sandy Spring, MD

Anacostia Riverkeeper engaged Conroy Landscape Architecture to develop a concept plan for green infrastructure practices to be implemented at the Religious Society of Friends meeting house property in Sandy Spring, MD. Poor soil infiltration on the site causes pooling of water on the north side of the Lyceum building during rain events and more significant flooding occurs near Meeting House Road in larger storms. As stewards of the Anacostia River watershed, the Sandy Spring Monthly Meeting wanted site interventions that would benefit downstream neighbors, increase environmental education opportunities, and create habitat with native species.

We proposed re-vegetating an existing swale and creating a new vegetated swale along the west property boundary to move water into a small natural pool. The pool collects the site water and slowly releases it into the existing culvert when at capacity. A series of boulder walls wind through the west swale to provide opportunities for children to explore and understand the natural systems at work. The edible forest surrounds the existing playground and includes native persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) and Serviceberry (Amelanchier canadensis) trees.