A series of three swales were designed to catch the storm runoff from the working storage area at Minnetrista.  These swales are the home to wetland plant species that filter nutrients from the runoff as it eventually filters down into the pond or into the surrounding soils and back into our aquifer (where our drinking water comes from).   A small portion of the runoff water makes into the pond, the lowest point in the nature area at Minnetrista. 

The pond is full of life, from turtles, frogs, and fish to sedges, water lilies, and pondweed.  Canada geese nest along its banks every spring along with Mallards. 

Pond, Wetland filer bed plants:
Long leaf pondweed  Potamogetom nodosus
Broad-leaved cat-tail  Typha latifolia
Pickerel-weed   Pontederia cordata
Duckweed   Lemna sp.
Blue-Flag Iris    Iris virginica
Sedges    Carex sp.