Making it easy to have 'green' yard
At a time of year when suburbanites are getting yard-care advice from all sides, 19 communities want residents to know that they can maintain healthy lawns while saving water and minimizing use of chemicals.
That's the message a new coalition is sounding through a public education initiative aimed at promoting environmentally friendly ways of tending yards and gardens.
"We are looking at what avenues we can use to reach people most effectively, and to actually get them to change their landscaping practices," said Emily Levin, restoration program manager for the Ipswich River Watershed Association, which is working with two other area environmental groups, Salem Sound Coastwatch and Eight Towns and the Bay, to spearhead the regional outreach effort.
Launched in December, the Greenscapes North Shore program is modeled after a South Shore program begun several years ago. The two efforts form an evolving state Greenscapes program that is coordinated by the Massachusetts Bays Estuary Association, a nonprofit partner of the Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program.
Barbara Warren, executive director of SalemSound Coastwatch, said the landscaping methods that Greenscapes promotes are those that "reduce water usage, encourage ground-water recharges, protect our water supply, and reduce storm-water pollution." The target audience is homeowners.
"The key is finding easy-to-understand methods. We're not coming in and saying, 'You all have to do it this way or that way.' It's giving guidance and suggestions in a lot of different ways," she said.
The three nonprofits decided a collaboration made sense because their concentration areas collectively cover a large chunk of the region.
Peter Phippen, coastal resources director for Eight Towns and the Bay, said Greenscapes fits nicely into the work his group does to protect the coastal environment.
"Greenscaping is a type of low-impact development technique, and that is something we've been promoting within our communities," he said.
Levin said that changing landscaping habits is also "really central" to the work of the Ipswich River Watershed Association, which advocates for policies to address the seasonal low-flow conditions on the river. "Water quality is also a concern for us," she said.
"Because we are a suburban region, lawns make up a large amount of the area in the watershed. So we really wanted to develop a program that targeted residents, average homeowners, with a positive message . . . about the things they can do."
Organizers say they are thrilled by the response they have received from local cities and towns, noting that 19 communities have agreed to participate in the Greenscapes North Shore program.
"It's very exciting and heartening to be able to collaborate with all these communities and really get the message out," said Levin, noting that at least some of the cities and towns were spurred to join because Greenscapes will help them meet the public education requirements of federal storm-water regulations.
A key feature of this year's program was the mailing of a 20-page guide about earth-friendly lawn care to single-family homes in participating cities and towns. Each member community was required to pay a 50-cent per household printing and mailing fee, on top of a $1,500 membership fee for the year.
Among the topics covered in the 2007 Greenscapes guide are grass-cutting techniques, such as using a sharp mower blade, mowing frequently, and keeping grass 3 inches tall -- designed to help create "a lush, dense lawn that is naturally resistant to drought, weeds, and disease."
The guide also includes information on grasses and native plants that are relatively drought-resistant, and tips on how to compost, knowing when to water, building rain gardens, and alternatives to insecticides and herbicides -- such as using corn gluten meal to prevent weed seeds from spreading.
The program is also sponsoring six workshops and, through its guide and website, lists businesses that are selling environmentally friendly landscape products and services, from rain barrels to native plants, at discount prices.
Pamela Irwin, customer service adviser for the Danvers Department of Public Works, said enrolling in Greenscapes "is just another step in our commitment to educating our residents and making them more aware" of water conservation.
Gloucester's public health sanitarian and Conservation Commission chairman, Max Schenk, spearheaded his city's enlistment in 2007 Greenscapes North Shore.
"We are a fishing community, and water quality directly affects the health of our estuaries, which . . . are the nurseries of our fishing industry. So you want to make sure they are protected," said Schenk, who is also president of the Massachusetts Bays Estuary Association.
"We are also a tourist community. The natural resources of our community, especially our beaches and the sports fishing business, rely on good water quality."
Schenk said he believes many homeowners will heed the Greenscapes message.
"I think especially in this era of 'An Inconvenient Truth,' " he said, referring to Al Gore's documentary on global warming, "people are really becoming more educated and aware of the issues, and they want to be proactive.
"This provides them with a tool to be proactive."
NorthTalk
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