Green Friend of the Games Cane Run Watershed Project

As a “Green Friend of the Games”, Bluegrass Partnership for a Green Community has been working to make the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games as “green” as possible. One of our focal points has been to protect and improve water quality in and around the Kentucky Horse Park. The streams that flow through the Park are part of the Cane Run watershed, which contributes to the drinking water of Georgetown, KY.

With the assistance of landscape architects at M2D Design Group, we have developed a landscaping plan to protect the streams at the Kentucky Horse Park. Installation of streamside vegetation presents wonderful legacy opportunities at the Kentucky Horse Park. This project will establish trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers that are Kentucky native, with plantings beginning in April and May, 2010. The Cane Run watershed will see tremendous benefit from these features, such as reduced erosion on streambanks, pollution prevention from parking lot runoff, and enhanced stream habitat.

This Best Management Practice (BMP) in the Cane Run watershed will be highly visible to the local community, business community and outside visitors and will be installed almost entirely by community volunteers. This presents a wonderful opportunity to educate people about watershed stewardship and riparian buffers and encourages a sense of ownership, pride, and responsibility to maintain this unique area. A recreation trail, equipped with interpretative signs and educational material, will be built along the route to raise awareness of the importance of effective stream stewardship. This project will also demonstrate a practice relevant to equine operators as well as agricultural, business, municipal and residential property owners.

Click Here to view ACP Flyer

On May 10, 2010, over 24 volunteers from around the region participated in planting the stream bank.
Click Here to read the College of Agriculture's news article.