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Health & Fitness

Bayscaping: A New Way to Make Your Green Thumb Greener

To save our environment, we often backtrack and fix what we've been doing wrong. In stormwater management, that involves retrofitting ineffective systems. In our backyards, it's about "going native."

 

In today’s eco-driven society, we reuse or recycle plastic bottles, bags, paper and pretty much anything we can to "go green." But perhaps our greatest resource is literally falling on our heads: rain from the sky that becomes stormwater runoff.

At a recent stormwater management and Low-Impact Development “LID” workshop sponsored by the American Littoral Society, in partnership with the Pinelands Preservation Alliance and water resource consultants Princeton Hydro, the key phrase was “storm water is a resource, not a waste.”

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After hearing the facts, and repeating that phrase to myself over and over, I realized it made perfect sense. So I can’t help but wonder why we all don’t think of it that way.

We’ve heard of green roofs and rain barrels, but many of us are unaware of the volume and pollution-minimizing benefits of infiltration basins. Before this workshop, I have to admit I had no idea those ubiquitous detention basins, (usually seen as a big hole in the ground with a fence around it) next to a developed area are not only outdated, but have always been ineffective at mitigating polluting stormwater runoff. 

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Those extended detention basins are designed to only temporarily collect runoff during storm events with minimal, if any, nitrogen and phosphorous pollution treatment, before it continues onto the waterways or into the groundwater below.

Overdevelopment, specifically in the 660-square mile Barnegat Bay watershed, has been to blame for polluted stormwater in local streams, rivers and the Barnegat Bay estuary itself which covers 42 miles of shoreline from Point Pleasant Canal in the north to the Little Egg Harbor inlet in the south.

The bay’s ecosystem is rattled constantly by an overabundance of nitrogen as well as other harmful pollutants from fertilizer, pet waste, deforestation, septic systems and air pollution that cause algae blooms, die offs of sea grasses and other bay life – even making our bay home to stinging jellyfish. But all is not necessarily lost.

The plan now is to think more progressively about “green infrastructure” and updating or retrofitting those detention basins with more effective low impact development techniques such as constructed wetlands, rain gardens, bio-retention and infiltration basins. 

No one technique provides the highest benefits in pollution management, but by implementing complementary systems that work best for its particular site, positive results can be seen both environmentally and economically. You can learn more by visiting the Littoral Society’s website page about their current green infrastructure and stormwater project in the Barnegat Bay watershed http://www.littoralsociety.org/index.php/programs/barnegat-bay/projects

But while aiding in retrofitting existing detention basins and maintaining them properly may not be in everyone’s job description, what can the rest of us do to make a positive impact in this issue?

For one, proper maintenance of our lawns to ensure optimal soil conditions allows it to naturally do its job of decreasing water volume and filtering out pollutants from storm water. If not tended to properly, soil can become overly compacted and harden as much as concrete, creating a flat non-absorbent surface.

Second, we can start by giving our lawns and backyards a more natural and yet still aesthetically pleasing makeover. When most of us hear the phrase “native plants,” we may think of weeds taking over our homes and creating an overgrown jungle only Tarzan and Jane would be proud to call home.

But the truth is native plants can be just as beautiful as those prized rosebushes. And more importantly, native plant use can reduce or eliminate the need for harmful fertilizers and pesticides, create habitat for wildlife and reduce water consumption. By gardening the traditional way, we've been retooling our lawns to fit the plant when it should be the other way around in order to reduce resource usage and pollution.

So maybe we should embrace native plants for what they are; not necessarily weeds or ugly, a perfect fit for our particular lawn by reducing resource use, and green helpers in our efforts to protect our environment. Learn more about how you can “Bayscape for Barnegat Bay” by visiting the Littoral Society’s website: http://www.littoralsociety.org/index.php/programs/barnegat-bay/bayscape-...

Embracing native plants on our properties would usher in a new era of lawn care or “bayscaping” for the Barnegat Bay area homes, and with it would come protection and restoration of our beautiful and valuable Barnegat Bay.

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