Intern Plants Her Ideals Along City’s Waterways

By NORA FI RESTONE

By Nora Fi restone

Correspondent

PRINCESS ANNE

Susan Wenze l, an En vironmental Management intern with the city’s Planning Department, is intent on improving the quality of Virginia Beac h’s waterways and showing others how to do the same.

She expects her accomplishments to be evident in the future condition of the Chesapeake and Back Bay watersheds, which lead to the Atlantic Ocean.

Wenzel, a Red Mill resident and member of the Back Bay Restoration Foundation, will install riparian buffers – plants along coastal banks – at three Back Bay locations in Ma y. Volunteers are neede d.

The main purpose of riparian buffer s is to prevent sediment, nutrient and toxic pollutants from entering the waterways, said Wenzel, 37.

One serious threat to water quality is “nonpoint source” pollution, which is not confined to a single source such as a pipe. These pollutants include pesticides, household chemicals, fertilizers and animal waste, and are transferred via runoff to rivers and bays, impactin g marine quality and aquatic life.

“We use plants that are capable of absorbing toxics before they reach the water and can return nitrogen to the soil in a usable form,” Wenzel said. “These plants also have specific root systems that hold soil together, helping to prevent erosion.”

Wenzel recently planted a buffer on an embankment near Lynnhaven Middle School. Seventh-grade science teacher Lydia McNea l encouraged students and their parents to assist. About 25 people attended, planting more than 1,200 bushes, trees and switches.

Wenzel designed the buffer activity for an internship requirement, but she plans to make it ongoing .

Jointly funded by the city of Virginia Beach and a grant from the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program, the three Back Bay plantings will take place on Sat urday and May 1 9.

Nora Firestone, firestone5@earthlink.net

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