Not just a pretty pattern

Such a pretty pattern.  What is it?  A piece of cloth?  An extreme close-up of the eye of some insect?   A tire tread?

No, it's pavement.  Well, to be more precise they're pavers. So what?

This picture was taken at the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge near Sherwood.  And if you had been there when GroveAtopia took the picture you would have been able to see the whole scene, not just this piece.  

And had you seen the whole picture, you would see this is actually just a tiny portion of a very large entry way to the Refuge's Wildlife Center.

The big deal about these pavers is the way the are laid out.  See those spaces between them?  They have gravel in them.  That gravel absorbs the rainwater that hits the pavers.

That's different than the way pavers are usually laid out.  Usually they are laid tightly up against each other leaving little or no space between them.  So guess what happens to the raindrops that hit those tightly packed pavers?  They run off it big sheets.  And where do they go then? 

The raindrops join together and  flow wherever the downhill slope takes them, joining with other rainwater flows and often ending up in a gutter that carries them to a storm water system of pipes that carry them into the nearest creek or river.

That's what happens to rain water in GroveAtopia.  And it isn't good for the creeks and rivers because, through absolutely no fault of its own, that rain water takes with it whatever is in its path - motor oil, animal waste, fertilizer and whatever else is in the gutter - and washes it into the nearest creek or river.  

The creeks and rivers don't like it.

But leaving those little spaces between these pavers allows the water to be absorbed down into the ground beneath them.  That keeps the water from flowing somewhere where it can do harm.

It's a simple thing really, but it makes a big difference.   

GroveAtopia does not have any pavers like these.   But you and I know that GroveAtopia's creeks and rivers would be happier and healthier if we did have them.

So when you get around to laying some pavers, try this method.  It'll help save our rivers and maybe, just maybe, one day we'll have happy, healthy creeks and rivers again in GroveAtopia.