Evaluation of Proposal Sources

Evaluation of Sources

Campus Rain Garden Proposal

Source #1: Philadelphia Water Department “How to Build a Rain Garden”

Summary

· This source outlines necessary step by step instructions on how to build a rain garden. The nine steps are locate and select your downspout, determine the size of your rooftop that drains into the downspout, calculate the size of your rain garden, design the rain garden, dig the rain garden, test the garden, disconnect your downspout, add plants to the rain garden, and maintain the garden. The source is incredibly detailed and easy to follow.

Assessment

· Because the source was published by the Philadelphia Water Department, a government agency that specializes in the treatment and conversation of water, it is credible. Furthermore, the source is useful for my proposal considering the rain gardens I want to construct would be built right within Philadelphia. The source is objective because it simply outlines the instructions for building a rain garden.

Reflection

· This source would be helpful to include in my proposal because it would help me to create the technical outlines of my rain gardens. Having a detailed and concise plan proves to other possible club members, investors, and advisors that I am prepared and passionate about implementing my proposal.

Citation

How to Build a Rain Garden. (2018). Retrieved October 4, 2018, from http://www.phillywatersheds.org/whats_in_it_for_you/residents/how-build-rain-garden

Source #2: Why Every City Should Be Planting Rain Gardens

Summary

· This article detailed the new and emerging trend of cities building rain gardens to filter their rain runoff and beautify their community. Portland, Oregon was mentioned in the source as one of leading cities in rain garden construction.

Assessment

· This source is credible as it was written by Christine MacDonald, an accredited environmental activist and author whose work has been published in the Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, Dallas Morning News and Washington Post. The source is objective.

Reflection

· I will use this source in my proposal to show how beneficial a rain garden would be on Temple’s urban campus by quoting how effective rain gardens have been in cities like Portland and Washington D.C.

Citation

MacDonald, C. (2012, January 27). Why Every City Should Be Planting Rain Gardens. Retrieved October 5, 2018, from https://www.citylab.com/life/2012/01/why-you-should-care-about-rain-gardens/975/

Source #3: Building a Campus Rain Gardens: An Ecologically and Visually Pleasing Solution

Summary

· This source gives an overview of how successful the construction of a rain garden was at Messiah College as well as outlines how students at Lynchburg College plan to build a rain garden on their campus. The source also provides insight about the challenges and solutions to building a rain garden on a college campus.

Assessment

· This source is credible because it provides specific facts and figures about the rain garden at Messiah College and the plan for a rain garden at Lynchburg College. The article includes quotes from contributors of both projects. The source is objective because it focuses on the real life experiences of building a rain garden on a college campus.

Reflection

· I plan on using details from this article to highlight how successful and beneficial that rain gardens can be on college campuses. I will also take note of the solution section mentioned in the article to show that I am prepared for any possible problems or challenges.

Citation

Brennan, S., & Aranovitch, J. (2015, January). Building a Campus Rain Gardens: An Ecologically and Visually Pleasing Solution. Retrieved October 5, 2018, from http://www.pupnmag.com/article/building-a-campus-rain-gardens-an-ecologically-and-visually-pleasing-solution/

Source #4: Residential Rain Gardens: Design, Construction, and Maintenance

Summary

· This source provides a comprehension overview of the who, what, why, how, and when of rain garden construct. However, the most interesting and useful part of this source is the worksheet at the end of the article that can be used to calculate watershed surface area, rain garden size, and pervious surface area for any specific land plot.

Assessment

· This source is credible because it was published by researchers and professors affiliated with the University of Kentucky. The source would be useful because it answers many of the questions that one would have about the process of building a rain garden. The source is objective because it is more of an instruction manual than a persuasion-based article.

Reflection

· I would use the worksheet from the source in my proposal to calculate the measurements needed for a hypothetical rain garden. Quantitative evidence, like measurements, would strengthen my proposal.

Citation

Walling, S., Osborne, A., Lee, B., & Durham, R. (2014, May). Residential Rain Gardens: Design, Construction, and Maintenance. Retrieved October 5, 2018, from https://uknowledge.uky.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1158&context=anr_reports

Source #5: Small Rain Gardens for Storm water and Biodiversity in the City: Learning from Traditional Ways

Summary

· This source outlines Keitaro Ito’s experiences with building a rain garden in the backyard of his urban home. An interesting aspect of this source is that Ito focused a lot of his article on the correlation between rain gardens and creating a zen atmosphere.

Assessment

· This source is credible because Keitaro Ito is a landscape ecology and design professor at Kyushu Institute of Technology. He also has experience in designing urban parks, river banks, school gardens, and forest parks all around the world which proves his insights are valid. The source is objective.

· Including details about Ito’s experience would be useful to include in my proposal because it is a primary source that highlights the real life successes and struggles of building a rain garden. Furthermore, Ito puts great emphasis on the therapeutic elements of rain gardens which I plan on including in my proposal.

Citation

Ito, K. (2016, March 29). Small Rain Gardens for Stormwater and Biodiversity in the City: Learning from Traditional Ways. Retrieved October 5, 2018, from https://www.thenatureofcities.com/2016/03/29/small-rain-gardens-for-stormwater-and-biodiversity-in-the-city-learning-from-traditional-ways/