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Project Leader(s): Brian Eshenaur, Consumer
Horticulture Team Leader, CCE - Monroe County
Sharon Rosenblum, Consumer Horticulture Educator,
CCE - Monroe County
Cooperator(s): Monroe County Health Department;
Bureau of Water Quality Planning Water Education Collaborative Monroe County;
Master Gardener Program of CCE - Monroe County
Type of grant: Public Education
Project location(s): Monroe County
Abstract: The goal of the Great Lawns/Great
Lakes program is to improve water quality by educating and encouraging homeowners
to use IPM lawn care practices that would reduce pesticides and nutrient usage.
Funding this project allowed us to offer our current Great Lawns/Great Lakes
program, previously in only 3 neighborhoods, to all municipal properties in
Monroe County.
Background and justification: A
large-scale watershed plan for Lake Ontario and the Genesee River Watershed
was completed in 1997 and recommended several actions to remediate water
quality problems. Public meetings were held to determine which actions
were of highest priority to the community; lawn care education ranked
highest. In addition, the Monroe County Health Department conducted
a telephone survey in the year 2000 of 516 randomly selected county
residents to gauge water quality opinions and knowledge. To the question,
"Would you be willing to reduce applications of fertilizer and
pesticides to your lawn, if it would improve water quality?" 81% of
respondents who currently use pesticides and/or fertilizers answered
"yes". This supports our premise that people will be responsive to changes
in lawn care practices if they are provided education.
The Great Lawns/Great Lakes pilot project
began in June 2000 currently has 20 Master Gardener volunteers working
with 100 homeowners in three different community neighborhoods. Municipal
officials in the towns where the three pilot program neighborhoods are
located have all been interested and receptive to participating in the
demonstration project. Persons living in these three neighborhoods have
identified stream, pond, wetland, river, and lake pollution as serious
concerns that need to be addressed. Through a survey of these homeowners
in the summer of the year 2000, we have come to understand that the
vast majority of local homeowners are unaware of how their current lawn
care practices may negatively impact local water quality, and how this
relates to our failure to meet Great Lakes water quality goals.
Objectives:
- Provide in-depth educational programs
and materials to municipal employees representing a minimum of ten
municipalities.
- Institute IPM lawn care practices
on an estimated 1,000 acres of municipal lawns.
- Project Evaluation.
Procedures:
Objective #1.
- Municipalities were asked to participate
in the Great Lawns/Great Lakes project.
- Personal invitations and program
announcements encouraged municipalities to set up free lawn care seminar(s)
for employees and residents.
- CCE staff and volunteers are available
to provide additional assistance as requested by municipal workers.
- Program overviews at meetings, educational
articles, program announcements, individualized invitations, and personal
telephone calls encouraged municipalities to schedule lawn care training
programs and to institute IPM based lawn care practices.
Objective #2:
- Built on the positive relationships
initiated at other Cornell Cooperative Extension — Monroe County
IPM programs and training opportunities.
- Discussions of lawn care and IPM
practices were conducted with representatives from each municipality.
They were asked to provide us with information about their current
lawn care practices, and what IPM based lawn care practices they had
recently implemented.
- Each municipality was encouraged
to take a soil sample and fertilize accordingly.
- IPM/Lawn care training for employees
was scheduled.
- Individualized assistance is available,
on request, to Municipalities that maintain lawns and sports fields.
Objective #3:
- Attendance counts are taken at the
various presentations.
- Participating municipal representatives
are being provided with environmentally friendly lawn care educational
materials and asked to return a post card survey.
- Municipalities and their Conservation
Boards will be encouraged to participate in this project. Information
from surveys will be tabulated to provide an estimate on the number
of acres being impacted.
- Participants will be asked to evaluate
the training program and materials, and the assistance given by staff
and volunteers.
Results and discussion: Personal letters, telephone calls, presentations
at municipal water quality committee meetings and on-site visits were
made to interest municipalities in participating in this program.
Initial response to the program was
lower than expected. We felt it was important to listen to their issues
and consider ways of addressing them as our efforts continue. Their
responses/reasons were quite varied:
- They do not use any fertilizers or
pesticides and, thus, are practicing environmentally friendly lawn
care;
- If they raise their mowing height,
their residents will complain that the lawns look shaggy;
- They are already mowing their lawns
at a height of three inches (even if the lawns do not appear that
way);
- Only a few properties adjoin a water
body so most do not effect our water;
- During the summer months lawn and
athletic field managers were not readily available since they are
out maintaining their turf throughout the majority of the growing
season;
- They want to see what lead the County
takes in implementing a Public Water Education Program and they will
then consider their course of action.
We are aware of the above attitutes
as we move forward bringing this program to local muncipalities. At
this point work planned with and interested municipalities includes:
- Scheduling classes to be implemented
during the 2002 winter months
- Printing a series of lawncare articles
(to be provided by CCE-MC staff) in their newsletters and community
newspapers; it is their belief that their residents need to be educated
and to understand why municipal lawns, fields, etc. will look different
than they have in the past (i.e. mowed higher)
- Brochures and print materials will
be made available to employees and municipal residents
- They will trial mowing fields, lawns,
etc. at a higher height and see what community response they receive
- Employee and resident lawn care seminars
are scheduled for January, February and March of 2002.
Through these outreach activities we
expect a greater adoption of proper turf management practices, along
with a more integrated approach to conrol weed, disease and insect problems
to occur within Monroe County Muncipalities.
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