Orange County Students at Bolin Creek

Urban Sustainability Solutions is proud to highlight the work of our Orange County student cohort participating in the Growing More Than Rain Gardens program. This group, made up of both basic and advanced students, partnered with the Friends of Bolin Creek and the Bolin Forest Phase II HOA to support ongoing restoration and community-based design efforts within the Bolin Creek Watershed near Bolin Forest Drive.

The basic rain garden group worked directly with a local homeowner, conducting a site survey of a backyard property and developing a design for a rain garden to help manage runoff. After completing their assessment and design, students presented their plan to the homeowner—building both technical skills and confidence in communicating their ideas to community members.

Meanwhile, the advanced group took on a larger planning effort, researching and designing a proposal for a food forest within a section of the Bolin Creek Watershed. Their plan explored how stormwater management, food production, and ecological restoration can work together. Students presented their design to members of the Friends of Bolin Creek and the Bolin Forest Phase II HOA, engaging key stakeholders in a conversation about long-term land use and community benefit.

Advanced Rain Garden group presenting their plan.

Basic Rain Garden group presenting their plan.

Both groups came together for hands-on restoration work along the streambank, where they planted 40 American Hazelnut trees. These understory plantings will help restore areas cleared and impacted by Hurricane Chantal flooding, with additional plantings planned this fall to support songbirds and local wildlife habitat.

Students also contributed to stabilizing and restoring a nearby space where an old playground had been removed. They worked to level the area, seed it with a mix of native grasses and riparian buffer pollinators, and install coir matting to prevent erosion and support healthy plant establishment.

This work is part of a larger, ongoing restoration effort within the Bolin Creek Watershed, and reflects how students can play an active role in shaping more resilient and ecologically rich communities. From site design to hands-on installation, the Orange County cohort demonstrated the power of combining education, community partnership, and environmental stewardship.