I was watching Birding Adventures the other night and learned about the Wakodahatchee Wetlands and Green Cay Wetlands in Palm Beach County, Florida. Both are constructed wetlands (50 acres of unused utilities land and 100 acres of farmland, respectively). Each day, the Palm Beach County Water Utilities Department’s Southern Region Water Reclamation Facility (that’s a mouthful) pumps several million gallons of treated wastewater through these two wetlands, which further purify the water by filtering it naturally.

Both sites are open to the public and feature boardwalks and interpretive signs. In excess of 140 birds have been identified at Wakodahatchee, and that site is also home to turtles, frogs, and alligators.

To find out how you can do this in an urban area, read about how this school was landscaped to eliminate flooding.