It’s Easy To Be Green, Week 6

This is another installment of Lichterman Nature Center's twelve week It's Easy To Be Green program that MLGW employees are participating in.

With this warm weather, it is only fitting that we focus on the yard this week. Your yard is another area where you and your family can conserve and recycle. Don’t confuse those large storm drains in the street for trash bins. What does down storm drains ends up in and pollutes our streams and rivers.

Action Items

• Do not sweep or blow leaves and grass clippings into storm drains. Instead, bag them for curbside collection or start a compost pile.

• Help keep litter and garbage out of storm drains. Make sure the trash can lid is securely fastened and that other garbage is properly bagged or boxed when you put it on the curb.

• Let grass clippings stay on the lawn. These clippings will decompose and return important nutrients to the soil.

• Clean sidewalks and driveways with a broom instead of hosing them down with water. This saves water and is good exercise for you.

• Bag and deposit pet waste in the trash. Pet waste dumped in storm drains pollutes streams and rivers.

• Wash your car on the grass. The soap fertilizes the grass, and the soil helps filter out pollutants that would otherwise end up in the storm drain.

• Turn off the hose when washing your car. Use a bucket instead.

The storm drains and gutters outside your home channel rain water into the stormwater system. Stormwater empties directly into streams and rivers. When people pollute stormwater or use storm drains as “garbage cans,” they also pollute our natural waterways.