BOISE - The Boise Depot is one of our city’s most iconic treasures. But did you know that there are also some lovely gardens there where you can walk past streams and waterfalls, as well as several ponds that are home to dozens of beautiful koi fish?
Those ponds could use a little help getting cleaned up, a local nonprofit group that plans to do just that, and they could use some of Boise’s wonderful volunteer spirit, too.
The Boise Train Depot is an iconic landmark in the city of trees, with an impressive benchtop view overlooking downtown Boise. Below the depot lie the Platt Gardens, where beautifully landscaped paths wind around several ponds that contain an assortment of valuable koi fish. Unfortunately, the water is so murky, that you can hardly see the fish most of the time.
These koi ponds below the Boise Depot are a beautiful spot in Boise, but they have been neglected and are in serious need of cleaning.
The ponds were built in 1927, shortly after the depot opened. Streams and waterfalls recirculate the water to reduce stagnation and provide aeration for the koi that live in the ponds. But sediment and algae have reduced the visibility to only a few inches.
“There is no filtration system,” said Cortney Nielsen with the Idaho Water Garden and Koi Society.
“They’re beautiful, beautiful fish that you don’t get to see because the water is so dirty.”
Water lilies provide a sort of natural cleaning process for the water, but they’re having a hard time keeping up. So a group of local water garden enthusiasts is coming here this weekend to do some cleaning, and they’re looking for some volunteers to help.
“The Idaho Water Garden and Koi Society is here to help better the ponds at the Boise Train Depot.”
“So we do our part… the City of Boise allows us to come up annually to clean those lilies.”
The water in these koi ponds has become so murky that you can hardly see the fish, and it’s hard for them to find something to eat, as well. That’s the whole point of this project this weekend.
“We will be here Sunday at 11:30 cleaning the lilies, and we would love for volunteers to show up and help. We could use some dirt, some rocks, some pots, and somebody with a four-wheeler and a trailer.”
Cleaning the lilies includes dividing and replanting them in additional pots, then putting them back in the pond so they can continue to naturally clean the water.
But keeping the koi fed is another issue. Like their cousins, the carp, they do eat the algae. But koi have been bred for their beauty and elegance, and some are quite valuable. They need a better food source.
“There’s currently about 30 koi fish that are in this pond. They are starving for food. They need to be fed, and so they eat the lilies, they burrow for food.”
“See, like that pot is empty, and that’s because the koi came in and ate it all.”
Boise Parks and Recreation maintains the Boise Depot and the Platt Gardens, but, according to Nielsen, there hasn’t been any real organized effort to maintain the ponds.
“No, there’s certainly not. Ideally, a filtration system and automatic feeder would be a new beginning for these fish.”
“If I were a fish, I would think that, hope that there is clean water just around the corner.”
“And a feeding station, an automatic feeder.”
Making it an even better experience for you and your family to come and enjoy.
“This would just be so wonderful to see something enhanced, especially as iconic as the Boise Train Depot.”
If you’re interested in water gardens and koi fish and would like to volunteer to help with the Boise
Depot pond clean-up, head over to the Idaho Water Garden and Koi Society website.