Your Yard Can Contribute to Clean Water!

What you do in your yard makes a big difference for your hometown Rouge River! 

Here are two ways we can rethink our landscape design and maintenance to benefit our Rouge River watershed – and ourselves! What is good for our waterways is also good for us.

1. If you haven’t already, make the switch to organic fertilizers and yard care products.

Even if your yard is not overlooking the river or a tributary, whatever you put on your yard finds its way to the river. Most fertilizers on the market are synthetic, salt-based, and water-soluble. They are like junk food for plants – not real nutrition. The salts in synthetic fertilizers harm the complex web of life in the soil, making it harder for your trees, shrubs, flowers, and lawn to thrive in the long term (even though you might see a quick green-up). Plus, they wash away easily into the storm drain, polluting your river.

Organic fertilizers nourish plants, soil, and soil microorganisms, making them the best choice for our ecosystem health and human health – and lawn, shrubs, and trees!

Remember – despite the advertisements and high-pressure sales reps – the ideal time to fertilize is in May, after the lawn has started growing and can absorb those nutrients.

2. Plant native trees, shrubs, and perennial plants.

Consider planting a new native tree and/or garden to commemorate a birthday, anniversary, or other important date this year.

Every native plant is an ecosystem! Native plants provide much-needed habitat for native critters. You probably wouldn’t even notice these native bees and other beneficial insects, but they are super-important for the health of our whole ecosystem.

• They provide nectar for pollinators, including butterflies
• They provide seed and insects that feed our native songbirds
• They improve the soil, help prevent flooding, which protects your Rouge River

Native perennial plants, such as purple coneflower, little bluestem grass, and orange coneflower, have a much deeper root system than annual flowers or lawn. That means they soak up a lot more rainwater before it travels to the curb. Runoff water going into the storm drain gets dumped directly into our Rouge River, carrying all the pollutants with it.

Plus, native plants are beautiful!

Right now, before spring emerges and our yard care routines kick in again, we have time to think and plan. Simple shifts in our habits can have a significant, positive impact on our own yard and the whole watershed where we live.