Bay-Wise

Bay-Wise yard certification sign

Baywise yard certification sign

Bordered by the Chesapeake Bay, the Patuxent River, and a multitude of creeks, streams, and wetlands, Calvert County is a most desirable locale in which to live and work. Residents enjoy the beauty and the bounty of the woodlands and waters and the opportunity to protect and enhance the environment.

The Maryland Master Gardeners have designed the Bay-Wise Landscape Management Program (http://www.baywise.umd.edu) to assist homeowners in developing practices that protect and preserve the Bay. Calvert County Master Gardeners implement this program locally and can provide assistance and education through lectures, classes, and one-on-one site visits.

Through the Bay-Wise program, interested county residents may invite qualified Master Gardeners to conduct yard visits to survey and evaluate their yards, to discuss problems and to make environmentally sound suggestions to correct them. Since 2004, when the program began, Master Gardeners have visited seventy-five county yard and garden sites. Most of these occurred in the last two years as the program has grown in visibility. Some requests from homeowners were simply to give advice on local problems. Because Master Gardeners are volunteers, there is no charge for yard visits.

In 2007, county Master Gardeners visited thirty yards and certified seventeen. Residences throughout the county, from Huntingtown to Solomons Island, were included. Among these were the Ferry Landing Woods community (Dunkirk), the Mill Creek (CRE/Drum Point) area, Broome’s Island, Cove Point Beach, Long Beach, and Chesapeake Beach. The organizational sites that have been certified are Patuxent High School, Solomon's Victorian Inn, Main Street Gallery, and Cove Point Natural Heritage Trust.

The Bay-Wise Landscape Management Program encourages county residents to maintain eco-friendly lawns and gardens and provides the following guidelines, which form the basis of the Bay-Wise Maryland Yardstick:

Protecting the Waterfront
Encouraging Wildlife
Planting Wisely
Mulching Appropriately
Watering Efficiently
Managing Yard Pests
Fertilizing Wisely
Recycling Yard Waste
Controlling Storm-water Runoff

________________________________________________

Find Out If Your Lawn and Garden Measure Up

Visit the Bay-Wise sites http://www.baywise.umd.edu/bwprogram.cfm

Bay-Wise Maryland Yardstick for Landscapes without Lawns
Bay-Wise Maryland Yardstick for Landscapes with Lawns
Bay-Wise Maryland Yardstick for Vegetable Gardens
Bay-Wise Maryland Yardstick Application

Look for Bay-WiseYard Signs throughout the community. Join your neighbors! Help us help you promote a healthier Bay for all.

More Information: The Bay-Wise Landscape Management Program is one of several educational activities offered by the CCMGs throughout Calvert County. For more information on these events or on the Master Gardener Program, please email us at ccmg@umd.edu or contact the Calvert County Office of the Maryland Cooperative Extension at 301-855-1150 or 410-535-3662.

For more information, contact Kathleen Mickley

Last updated: 03/10/2009