New Partnership for Greener Lawns, Cleaner Lakes
Stay tuned to your local newspaper, TV and radio stations this summer for lawn and gardening tips aimed at benefiting the Great Lakes.The Alliance has embarked on a multi-year partnership with The ScottsMiracle-Gro Company to spread the word about how the choices you make in your yard can affect the Great Lakes.
“The partnership is a natural fit for the Alliance,” said Alliance Sustainable Business Director Jonah Smith. “By raising awareness about easy things just about everyone can do around the home to positively impact the Great Lakes, we're creating the potential for millions of new stewards.”
The outdoor lawn and garden products manufacturer is teaming with the Alliance on media spots that offer tips about common-sense practices homeowners can follow to conserve water and curb the amount of pollution and nutrients that wash into the lakes.
Tips range from watering lawns in the morning to using native plants in your landscaping to reducing your phosphorus use whenever feasible –- all of which can save you money.
"The future of the Great Lakes has a lot to do with our actions in and around the home," said Alliance President Cameron Davis. "This partnership draws on our organizations' deep understanding of the relationship between water, well-maintained lawns and the environment."
As part of the partnership, advertisements and brochures, public service announcements, a web site, community outreach events and in-store educational materials will promote proper lawn care, enhancing water quality and benefiting the environment."Homeowners recognize the need to protect water quality, yet lack information on how to take action in their own back yards and surrounding community," said Rich Shank, chief environmental officer at ScottsMiracle-Gro. "Working with the Alliance for the Great Lakes, we're underscoring that properly cared for turf goes hand in hand with water quality -- that the relationship between lawns and water is not mutually exclusive."
Among the suggested tips:
• Mow High -- Longer grass is stronger grass that's able to shade the soil, prevent weed seed germination, and promote deeper roots that help retain moisture and better absorb and filter rainfall.
• Return Clippings -- Mulching mowed grass recycles organic matter and returns nutrients to the soil. Rich soil reduces erosion and runoff.
• Use the Right Fertilizer -- Unless feeding a starter lawn or a soil test indicates otherwise, choose a fertilizer that's low in phosphorus or phosphorus-free.
• Clean Up -- Keep fertilizer and grass clippings off sidewalks, roadways and other hard surfaces. This reduces the chance fertilizer and grass clippings will run off hard surfaces into rivers, lakes and streams and keep nutrients on the lawn where they help the grass.
For more information, see the new “Lawns and Lakes” pages of our website.
Posted 5-15-09