CEHHS Professor participates on Bioretention Gardens project

Bioretention Gardens in Detroit's Cody Rouge neighborhood

UM-Dearborn’s Assistant Professor Natalie Sampson is part of the team working on the project Bioretention Gardens. This project contributes to efforts to use green infrastructure to manage storm water and reduce combined sewer overflows throughout Detroit. On the site of former vacant homes in Detroit’ Cody Rouge neighborhood, four new innovative gardens have arrived.

Professor Sampson brings her public health lens to the interdisciplinary team of scholars examining the benefits and limits of these gardens. With her colleague Noah Webster at U-M Ann Arbor’s Institute of Social Research, Sampson led a recent household survey to better understand the perceptions and preferences of residents living near the gardens.

Landscape architect professor in U-M Ann Arbor’s School of Natural Resources and Environment Joan Nassauer led the pilot project, which was funded by $285,000 from the U-M Water Center with support from the Erb Family Foundation. An additional $500,000 investment was made by the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) to construct the gardens and instrumentation for them to gather data.

Natalie Sampson

Sampson and Webster are already beginning plans for the next round of surveys. Sampson knows that this is only the first phase, but she’s glad to see the gardens—once only a concept in their multi-year project.

"There is still a lot to be done to understand the potential impacts of these gardens for residents, for the environment, and for the city. And we need to keep gathering and sharing information to do that, and do it well, Sampson said. 

View the full article in The Report