MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - It's easy to under appreciate the way our ecosystem naturally drains and filters water. The concrete used to pave roads causes water to overflow during rainstorms because it cannot naturally perforate through the earth. This causes an unnecessary strain on storm drains and becomes wasteful energy trying to purify and re-channel the water.

Thanks to the efforts of volunteers from the Mid Michigan Environmental Action Council (Mid-MEAC) and Meridian Township, they're taking measures into their own hands.

On Saturday May 28th, Alicia Bleil, a landscape architect, self-employed by Green Space Design and Contracting, showed volunteers how to use reclaimed materials and weather resistant plants to create a creek bed as a way for water to filter naturally.

"The benefits are long standing," says Bleil, "as they also provide habitats for birds and butterflies and makes for a more attractive space for the surrounding communities. The low maintenance garden, now located at the roundabout at the intersection of Burcham and Park Lake Roads, is a reminder of how easy it is to be resourceful, and that we can all utilize energy efficient and eco-friendly architecture."

After all, we might consider ourselves separate from nature, but we share the same environment and impact the same ecosystem.