Highlands School Board approves rain garden, tree planting projects

The Highlands School Board has approved the construction of a rain garden on district property and the planting of trees on its grounds in Harrison this spring.

The rain garden that will be built at Highlands Middle School is part of a $125,000 project funded by a grant from The Pittsburgh Foundation. The grant is also paying for the tree planting.

Volunteers planted 27 trees in November. Another 13 trees will be planted in April along 12th Avenue near Golden Rams Stadium.

The rain garden, at the corner of Broadview Boulevard and California Avenue, is expected to be built this year, according to Jeff Bergman, director of community forestry with the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

A community meeting on the project will be held in April.

The middle school grounds were among four locations considered in Harrison. It was chosen for its accessibility, the educational opportunities it will provide to students and to control stormwater there.

The garden will include benches and a path.

The district estimated its annual maintenance cost at between $600 and $800. That cost was left on the motion approved by the school board, although substitute Superintendent Monique Mawhinney said she doesn’t expect that to actually be the cost.

The district’s maintenance department will be able to maintain it at very little cost plus with the help of volunteers, she said.

The cost listed was for mulch and based on the maintenance workers’ hourly wage, she said.