Trinity Eco Prayer Park sowed the seeds and plants for a better Rapid City and greener planet with a volunteer planting day on Wednesday, May 6 at downtown Rapid City’s newest green space. The event at the corner of 4th and St. Joseph Streets occurred exactly one year after the park’s groundbreaking ceremony.
“Thanks to the generosity of community donors and Trinity Lutheran Church members in 12 months we have been able to transform a dismal vacant lot into a downtown oasis,” said Park Director Ken Steinken. “We are grateful to all who supported the vision for this park to become a reality.”
Volunteers placed more than 300 plants provided by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Plant Material Center in Bismarck, N.D. Background on the project and its origins with the Green Cities Task Force were reported in an earlier story on this blog.
Trinity Eco Prayer Park
Tate Lantz with the NRCS office in Rapid City arranged the acquisition of the plants from the regional facility. Lantz also helped compile the plant list for the park which features nearly 100 native western South Dakota species.
“The USDA-NRCS is available for technical assistance for these types of projects,” said Lantz. “We are happy to work with the Plant Materials Center in Bismarck to put native plants in the park and raise awareness about the possibilities of using them in landscaping.”
Black Hills Power donated $3,000 for the purchase of trees for the park.
“Our partnership with the Trinity Eco Prayer Park committee along with the Black Hills Power ‘Energy-Saving Trees’ program offers us the opportunity to promote the cleaner air, energy savings and other valuable benefits you gain by planting the right tree in the right place,” said Black Hills Power vice president of operations Vance Crocker.
Black Hills Power also assisted with the design of the park’s innovative solar hybrid power system. During the day when the park uses very little electricity, the solar panels on the park shelter supply power to the park. But when the panels generate more power than the park needs, the excess energy flows into Black Hills Power’s grid to be used by other consumers.
“There’s much more to the Trinity Eco Prayer Park than meets the eye,” said park director Steinken. “It’s not just a pretty place. We have intentionally included many elements in the park design that reflect ways for us to take care of the planet we live on so it can continue to take care of us.
“Solar power makes clean electricity. Native plants don’t need a lot of watering. And the park protects Rapid Creek by collecting and holding polluted stormwater runoff .”
GROW 2015 is an effort to get the park’s new plantings established as well as raise $300,000. Ninety percent of the funds will pay off the nearly-completed Phase 1 park construction. The other 10 percent will provide Phase 2 seed money, which will allow the park to reach full bloom by putting finishing touches on construction and establishing a sustainability education outreach.