The Zone 2 installation is illustrated here.   The work in this area was accomplished by 70 volunteers from the GE Elfun Society on September 11 and 12, 1999.  Work involved the construction of a stormwater treatment cell and the construction of a self-guided environmental education trail. 

• The project site is the "gateway" for the full greenway trail, which extends 2.2 miles - from Commerce Park to the town of Brookfield.
  
  
• Elfun volunteers cleared the area and laid out an attractive trail for citizens to learn about and appreciate the beauty and environmental functions of the River and its floodplain.
  
  
• The trail includes wildlife observation areas and is facilitated by a self-guided trail brochure.
  
  
• Benches were constructed and installed at attractive locations along the River.
  
  
• A Wood Duck box was installed on a tree near the River.
  
  
• One of the central features of the Zone 2 floodplain is the old oxbow of the River, which still functions to convey stormwater that drains from roads above the floodplain.  Our stormwater demonstration project here installed dense cells of wetland vegetation to absorb and metabolize pollutants out of the floodplain.
  
  
• The GE volunteers got "down and dirty" in the drainage slough but maintained a cheerful disposition.
  
  
• A variety of sedges, rushes, shrubs, and herbaceous plant plugs were installed in this drainage slough.
  
  
• The drainage slough discharges to the Still River at a narrow neck, where the channel narrows, which will function to dam stormwater and allow the settling of pollutants to the floodplain floor.  To preserve the integrity of this outlet, it was stabilized with an erosion control fabric that was planted with willow tublings and other herbaceous wetland vegetation.
  
  
• The Zone 2 floodplain also showcases the shoreline stabilization project.   Willow tublings were planted above the shoreline zone to stabilize the bank above the installed tree trunks and root wads.
  

Last update:  March 10, 2001 11:50 PM