This year, during the Alliance’s Annual Volunteer Tree Planting Relay (Treelay) Alliance team members, volunteers, and parishioners gathered at St. Catherine to plant trees. After our 35 volunteers completed the planting, they received a tour of the green infrastructure installations on the campus, including the recently-completed permeable parking lot.

a person points at a permeable parking lot

Carly Starobin, Green Infrastructure Projects Manager, gives Treelay attendees a tour of the green infrastructure installations on the St. Catherine campus, like this permeable paver.

In May 2021, the Alliance and ecoLatinos set forth to partner on a new project: The Greening of St. Catherine Labouré. Sitting on almost 10 acres of beautiful property in Montgomery County, MD, the Catholic church has immaculate grounds. The Alliance and ecoLatinos saw this site as an opportunity to address stormwater concerns with the parishioners at the forefront.

a garden area next to a church on a sunny day

The rain garden installed at St. Catherine Labouré Church

After receiving funding from the Montgomery County Watershed Restoration and Outreach Award Program, the Alliance and ecoLatinos worked with Shorb Landscaping and parish leaders to install rain gardens, trees, native landscaping, and rain barrels on the campus. These stormwater infrastructure elements were scattered between the church’s sanctuary and rectory. Each project installation was paired with bi-lingual outreach and education to St Catherine’s full parish.

Permeable pavement at St. Catherine Laboure

The Alliance unveiled and installed bi-lingual educational signage for each project, encouraging parishioners to implement similar projects on residential properties through the Montgomery County RainScapes program.

After the success of the original stormwater installations on the property, St. Catherine’s staff were eager to pursue more opportunities. As a result, the Alliance and ecoLatinos worked with the church once again to apply for and receive funding through the Green Streets, Green Jobs, Green Towns Grant Program; this time for replacing one of the church’s asphalt parking lots with permeable pavers.

a close up of someone laying a gray brick onto gravel

A crew member from First Impression Hardscapes installs the permeable paver.

Thanks to First Impressions Hardscapes, the paver is addressing around 7,000 square feet of stormwater runoff on the church’s property. Permeable pavers do have their own set of maintenance needs and the Alliance provided the landscaping team with the skills, knowledge, and physical equipment they will need for the job. With proper maintenance, the permeable paver parking lot will remain fully functional, both as a stormwater practice and as a parking lot for years to come.

It’s important to think about the year-round preventative maintenance, like sweeping and keeping the surface of the pavers clear of leaves and debris. This goes a long way toward ensuring systems don’t become clogged over time with weeds, sticks, etc.

a parking lot next to a building

The completed permeable parking lot will significantly reduce stormwater runoff on the St. Catherine campus.

None of these projects could have been possible without the funding from Montgomery County, the Chesapeake Bay Trust, and the Environmental Protection Agency. We are already seeing the multilayered benefits to the property, parish, and surrounding community! Neighbors from the residential streets surrounding the church have inquired about installing similar practices on their properties or common areas, which is the clearest sign that these practices are serving the community as intended – to make outdoor spaces more environmentally resilient, accessible, and engaging.

Learn more about the Alliance’s Green Infrastructure Projects