March 2023 | Issue No. 32

Visit Our Booth at the Home and Garden Show

City of Tulsa Stormwater Quality staff will be at the Greater Tulsa Home and Garden Show March 9 – 12, at the Tulsa Expo Center, 4145 E 21st St. The Home and Garden Show has over 300 vendors specializing in home improvement supplies and information. Visitors to the City of Tulsa booth can find information about stormwater quality and register for a drawing to win a rain barrel. 

Also at the booth, aquariums will showcase some of the most beautiful fish species found in Tulsa. These species range from common bluegill and catfish to more sparse species like orange throat darters. 

Add A Rain Barrel to Your Yard During this Special Sale 

We are partnering with Upcycle Products to offer rain barrels at a discounted rate for the public.

Rain barrels are typically attached to gutters and can help collect rainwater for watering gardens or lawns, washing cars, topping off a swimming pool, and more. Using water from a rain barrel instead of a hose also can help save money on water bills. Rain barrels also can help prevent runoff from entering a storm drain.

Rain barrels need to be ordered by these dates:

• Mail-in orders are due by April 27
• Online orders are due by April 30

To purchase a rain barrel visit Upcycle.

Local Park Gains New Amenities, Including Low Impact Development Features

McCullough Park is now open! Located at 11534 E. 25th St., this park features new walking trails, picnic shelters, restrooms, a splash pad, a playground, and more! The park’s Low Impact Development (LID) features are especially important for stormwater quality. LID prevents surface runoff from getting into nearby water or in storm drains. This allows for better water quality.

The parking lot at the park is a great example of this. Stormwater is flushed to the stormwater detention area. There is also a permeable rock detention area within the pump track to slowly release stormwater from the pump track to the underground storm drain system. To learn more about LID features and how to install them, visitwww.cityoftulsa.org/lid   

Species Spotlight: Beavers

Teeth marks on branches of wood near a creek might be the work of beavers. Beavers are notorious for chewing wood to make dams and to dull their teeth, and the bark provides them with nutrition.

Beavers have an interesting history. There are only two species of beavers that have not gone extinct: the North American beaver (Castor canadensis) and the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) (Schmidta). These beavers have adapted to live in today’s environment. They are semiaquatic rodents that are part of the mammalian family. They need to constantly chew on wood to dull their teeth because, unlike humans, their teeth do not stop growing! There was a time when beavers were heavily hunted for their fur, and their population dramatically decreased almost to extinction. However, since they have been protected, their population has steadily risen.  

Today, beavers are typically seen as a nuisance because they cut down trees and their dams contribute to flooding. Despite this complicated relationship with humans, beavers have an important role in the ecosystem. Beavers are what’s known as a keystone species, meaning that they have a direct impact on other species around them. Their dams provide shelter for other animals and for some inspects.