Come Celebrate with Us!
Bringing Baffin Back
Sarita Rain Garden Celebration Dinner
Holiday Inn Marina – Corpus Christi
Tuesday, May 13th
6:30 pm – 7:15 pm Reception with cash bar
7:15 pm – 9:15 pm Program
Register Now!
Reserved Tables of 8 – $500 (click here)
Individual tickets – $50 (click here)
Must RSVP – Tickets will not be available at the door
Click here to register for overnight stay at the Holiday Inn Marina
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Bringing Baffin Back:
Click here to learn more about the overall Bringing Baffin Back Program. https://www.harteresearch.org/collaboration/bringing-baffin-back
Sarita Rain Garden Project Overview
Baffin Bay is considered the jewel of the Texas Coast; however, high bacterial loads and excess nutrients have impaired the watershed, threatening the health of the people and organisms on which it relies. The San Fernando and Petronila Creek Watershed Protection Plan (WPP) Texas Water Resources Institute 2022) has identified urban runoff from impervious surface as a contributor to water quality decline. Working with local entities to increase green stormwater infrastructure is a priority management measure in the WPP, and actions at the demonstration scale can show benefits, both through direct installation of stormwater best management practices (BMPs) and via community education and outreach.
For this project, the Rotary Club of Corpus Christi (RCCC) is partnering with the Los Altos Quetzaltenango Guatemala Rotary Club and Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program (CBBEP) and the Kenedy County-wide Common School District (District) to install a rain garden on the Sarita Elementary School campus (Sarita, Texas). The estimated cost for construction, including design, engineering and educational materials, is $90,400. The financing includes a Global Grant from the Rotary Foundation. Other sponsors include the Rotary Clubs of Marble Falls, Edinburg, Brownsville Sunrise, Harlingen and Southside Corpus Christi and Districts 5930 (South Texas), 5870 (Central Texas), 5580 (North Dakota, Minnesota and Ontario) and 4130 (Northeast Mexico).
Rain gardens are listed as a green infrastructure best management practice to address stormwater in the WPP because they are designed to collect rainwater from a roof, driveway, parking lot, or street and allow it time to soak into the ground. When planted with grasses and flowering perennials, rain gardens are a cost-effective and beautiful way to reduce flooding; provide habitat for butterflies, songbirds, and other wildlife; store excess carbon; and filter out pollutants. Grant funds will be used for design and construction of the rain garden, which will serve as a demonstration project for surrounding communities.
