4 Easy Ways to Do Your Part for the Chesapeake Bay
On Thursday I went to a talk hosted by the Howard County Watershed Stewards Academy to hear Nick DiPasquele speak. He is the director of the Chesapeake Bay Program and filled us in on the past, present and future of the Bay program. He talked about what we can do in our own backyards to improve the quality of water and life in and around the Bay. Mr DiPasquele complemented us and said Howard County government and residents have been very proactive in promoting and educating Bay friendly behavior. This makes me proud to part of HoCo!
Some new things I learned from the night- there is a certification program that is being developed for contractors so that homeowners can know they are hiring a ‘Bay Wise’ lawn/landscape company- ehem, sign me up! Also, someone in Catonsville is developing a Homeowners BMP (best management practices) for implementing Bay friendly behaviors on their property. Homeowners would then receive credits on their Stormwater Management Fees. Just FYI as I have had residents of Baltimore County ask if there are any incentives.
Here are 4 Ways to Do Your Part for the Chesapeake Bay:
1. Don’t fertilize your lawn! Once a lawn is well established and mowed to the proper height to avoid weed seeds you don’t need to apply fertilizers. The best and easiest ways to avoid weeds overtaking your lawn is to mow to the proper height at the appropriate time intervals (ie- don’t let the weeds grow up and go to seed). Using this alone will minimize weeds in just one season. Get a mulching mower that will break up leaves and grass and redeposit them in the lawn, feeding it naturally and sustainably. This is a big deal and really helps reduce the amount of polluted run off that ends up in our waterways.
2. Install a rain garden- rain gardens are gorgeous, attract pollinators and slow the flow of water off your property. In the olden days we thought it was best to send all the water from our roofs and other impermeable surfaces (driveway, patio, etc) off the property and into the stormwater drain. The water picks up pollutants from our lawns (fertilizers, pesticides), our driveways (oil) and streets and it ends up polluting the local streams, rivers and Bay and is taxing on the wastewater treatment systems. The natural way is to stop this water from flowing off our properties and collect the water in a rain garden. This allows the water to seep into the ground right where it is! Here is an app that can assist you along the process- http://extension.umd.edu/watershed/regional-rain-garden-app. Rain gardens are really pretty too. Come check out our demo rain garden installation led by Lauren at the Howard County Conservancy in May!
3. Stop Erosion- If you have an area on your property that is eroding and sending sediment into a stream, stormwater drain or river then control the erosion. Using rock and plants to reestablish eroding areas is helpful. You’ll need to do some research based on your specific erosion issues. You can also redirect any sources of water run off into a rain barrel, rain garden or swale. There is too much information to realistically included here so contact us if you need guidance for your specific erosion issue. As a general rule I look to stop the water way before it is reaching the site of erosion as well as addressing the actual erosion site.
4. Remove some grass/lawn and plant natives– Utilizing native plantings and minimizing lawn is a great way to help the Bay. Native plants are adapted to this area and require less care when established (if planted in the proper location). Grass, while nice, can be minimized since it comes with a lot of environmental implications and also does not provide habitat for the local ecology. You don’t need to remove your whole lawn, just minimize it!
Its just nice to care for our local environment. Please let me know if you need more information on anything I mentioned above and I would be glad to help! It is my goal to make it easy for you! Here are also some good resources:
http://livegreenhoward.com/water/
http://extension.umd.edu/watershed/smart-tool