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09.15.2006
Getting down and dirty to clean the ground
Dustin Block
Original Article: Racine Journal Times
Two groups paired up Wednesday to use deep-rooted plants to draw contaminants out of soil along the Root River near Downtown Racine.
The Milwaukee Community Service Corps and the Kenosha/Racine Land Trust worked to install a phytoremediation system to cleanup the Mary Ellen Helgren Johnson Memorial Preserve, which is located along the Root River off Highway C.
"This is an important step in fulfilling our promise to the city and to the memory of environmental work done by Mary Ellen Helgren Johnson," said Nancy Pierce, executive director of the Kenosha/Racine Land Trust.
The Mary Ellen Helgren Johnson Memorial Preserve, which is a brownfield contaminated with pollution, was purchased by the Kenosha Racine Land Trust and donated to the city of Racine Parks Department with the understanding that the contaminants would be cleaned up.
Groundwork Milwaukee is coordinating the involvement of a work crew, which will was on site Wednesday and will continue today to install groundwater monitoring wells and to clear and seed 10 test plots. Groundwork Milwaukee and the Milwaukee Community Service Corp are involved in several projects involving phytoremediation, which promises a low cost method for municipalities, non-profit organizations and industry to clean up abandoned sites and return them to productive use.
