Greening yards to protect Lake Michigan

VALPARAISO | A workshop for residents to help green their yards and protect Lake Michigan will be presented from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Feb. 11. Location has not yet been determined.

Save the Dunes and partners will hold a free workshop to help residents in Northwest Indiana's Lake Michigan watershed to make simple changes on their property to protect Lake Michigan. Work days will be held late in the spring where participants get hands-on experience helping each other install practices. Each participant is expected to adopt at least two new "best practices" for water quality, such as phosphorus-free fertilizer, rain gardens, rain barrels, and many others. Participants will receive a free soil test, a rain garden manual, and a small stipend that must be put toward a best practice. Lunch will be provided.

Agenda Topics Include: Watersheds and water pollution; Water friendly lawn care; Rain gardens and rain barrels; Native plants; Composting; Indiana Wildlife Federation programs; Filtering pollutants and stabilizing soils; and Planning exercise to reduce pollution from your own property.

Registration is mandatory. Attendance will be limited to 25 participants to allow for hands on attention. For more information or to determine if you live within the Lake Michigan watershed contact Jennifer atwater@savedunes.org or (219) 879-3564.

This workshop is sponsored by Save the Dunes in partnership with Indiana Wildlife Federation, the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, and Purdue Extension. The Project is supported by TogetherGreen, an Audubon program with funding from Toyota.