Presentation Notes SESSION 2: Slide 1 – Cover slide Slide 2 – Welcome and program background Welcome to Session 2 of the ‘What’s In Your WILD Backyard?’ Workshop! We hope you had a little time to process all of the information we introduced in the last session and maybe you found time for a take home activity or perhaps you were able to explore your backyard and identify native plants…hopefully you didn’t find any of those pesky invasives! Don’t fret if you did, today we are going to cover several topics with simple steps for making your yard more welcoming for wildlife, and one of those topics is Invasive Species Eradication. (We know that invasive species may not be on your radar now during the winter season, but spring will be here before you know it, and that’s the perfect time to tackle unwanted invaders!) Today we’ll be covering: Lesson 4: Sustainable Landscaping & Lawn Maintenance Lesson 5: Water Conservation and Recycling Lesson 6: Invasive Species Eradication Lesson 7: Overcoming Obstacles Lesson 8: Drawing Your Backyard Basemap Slide 2 – Lesson 4: Sustainable Landscaping and Lawn Maintenance There are many small and easy adjustments you can make to the way you mow, fertilize, weed and treat your soil that will make your backyard more wildlife friendly. Small changes will make a BIG difference! Slide 3 – Soil and Fertilizer SOIL 101 - Understanding the makeup of the soil in your yard and in your regional area can help you decide which plants will be the best and which maintenance techniques you should use in your yard. Handout: Jar Soil Test Activity – this is an optional at home activity that is very easy but it will give you a lot of information about the makeup of the soil in your yard.
FERTILIZER - If the soil in your yard has been relatively undisturbed (not cleared for construction) you will likely not need to supplement with fertilizer. Native plants are adapted to nutrient poor soil and pre-fertilized soils often have too many nutrients and organic material for native plants. Another simple thing to do is have your soil’s nutrient profile tested so that you know exactly what nutrients are in it. If fertilizer is required, be sure to follow the 4 R’s for application: 1. Right product – make sure it’s Phosphorus Free! (Remember the Toledo drinking water debacle?) 2. Right rate – use only the recommended amount 3. Right place – make sure it stay in the yard or garden and does not spill or drain onto sidewalks or driveways 4. Right time – only fertilize while plants are growing Slide 5 – Mowing and Weeding MOWING - There are several tips for mowing in your wildlife friendly yard. For all areas that you are mowing, it is best to use a lawnmower that releases clippings back into the soil. It’s like free composting and will enrich your soil! For areas that are planted with turf grasses, it is best to mow only the top 1/3 to allow full root development and to choke out weeds. For other native plants and grasses, it is best to leave some uncut in the fall and winter, feel free to do a bit of trimming here and there but keep in mind what plants and shrubs would make great shelter for your wildlife friends. Native plants will provide valuable food sources for wildlife and add interesting texture to your landscape for the winter. Key point: You can keep your yard healthy with a few easy tips — mow high, leave clippings on the lawn, and leave some native plants untrimmed in the cold seasons. WEEDING - As far as weeding, it is an important technique that you can use to maintain your wildlife friendly yard and is a great defense against those invasive exotics. It is best for your yard ecosystem and your wildlife friends to avoid using herbicides as much as possible. However, for very large weed-ridden areas or for combating aggressive invasives, you may want or need to use an herbicide. Herbicides can have detrimental side effects so make sure to use one that does not leave a residue.
Another non-herbicide technique for removing weeds is called solarization. This technique basically smothers weeds under a clear plastic tarp after drenching them with water. It only works during hot, sunny summer months. Key point: regular light weeding can be the best way to stop weeds and invasive plants before they get out of control. For extra large areas, solarization is an effective technique. Avoid herbicides as much as you can as they are very damaging to your yard and especially to wildlife! Slide 6 – Composting and Mulching COMPOST - Composting is a great way to keep some of your kitchen or yard waste out of the landfill and repurpose it as a soil amendment/fertilizer that can be used in your yard. There are many different techniques that can be used for composting and there are many setups that can be purchased or made at home. There are whole workshops just on composting so if you are interested, the manual has some more detailed information and the resources section of the manual will lead you to other technical resources. Key point : Compost is simple to produce and is essentially free fertilizer for your yard! MULCH - There are many materials that can be used for mulching. Mulch can be bark, wood chips, leaves, straw, or grass clipping. Mulch will release nutrients into your yard and soil, will attract earthworms and good bacteria and will improve the overall health of your yard. Mulch can also help control weeds and can be used to give your yard a more polished and deliberate look. Key point : Mulch is another readily available and inexpensive material that can significantly improve the health of you yard by controlling weeds and adding nutrients. Slide 7 – To Pave or NOT to Pave? IMPERVIOUS VS PERVIOUS - Impervious surfaces are typically made of concrete, asphalt, brick or other materials that do not allow air or water to flow through them. As you can imagine, these types of surfaces are tough on an ecosystem and can have huge impacts on water runoff and soil health. Pervious surfaces are surfaces that allow air and water to flow through them. They may also be made of brick or asphalt but they are laid on a sand sub-base layer and a gravel base layer and then the paving material has enough space between bricks for water and air to flow or with
asphalt a more coarse gravel is used when making the mixture so that water and air can flow through the actual pavement. It may be costly and cumbersome to replace existing impervious surfaces in your yard (such as a driveway, patio or sidewalk), but we encourage you to utilize pervious options when installing any new paving feature! Key point : Pervious surfaces like crushed gravel and well-spaced pavers can greatly improve soil health and decrease runoff. Slide 8 – Lesson 5: Water Conservation & Recycling One of the most impactful changes you can make is to save and reuse more water. Water conservation may sound like an overwhelming task, but actually, small activities like using a rain barrel, tweaking your irrigation system and habits, building a rain garden or using different paving materials will help you take big steps towards this goal. Slide 9 – Plant Those Natives! Remember talking about the benefits of Native Plants? One more time…incorporating native plants is the best and perhaps easiest way t o cut back on water usage and attract wildlife to your yard. Natives need much less watering than exotics and turf grass. Even when they look a little brown, many will re-grow from seed that they have released into the soil. Remember the drought from the summer of 2012, when the city of Indianapolis restricted water use for sprinklers and yards? It seemed like everyone had brown dismal looking yards. Yards full of native plants looked great in comparison! The deep, extensive root systems of native plants are adapted to local environmental conditions and handle drought and flood events much better than turf grass and cultivars. If you are hesitant to make big changes in your yard, start small. Consider replacing a small patch of a turf grass area with native grasses instead. A mix of native grasses will provide a variety of food and shelter for wildlife and the array of textures and colors will make an attractive focal point in your yard. Key point: Planting with natives is the most effective and probably the simplest way to make your yard more wildlife-friendly and sustainable! Besides providing food and shelter, native plants also require less water which will help you save on costs.
Recommend
More recommend
