Bay-Wise Program

The Charles County Master Gardener Bay-Wise program teams up with our county forester to provide residents with free buffers in a bag. Each bag includes 20 bare-root seedlings, approximately 1-2 feet in height, which will be a mixture of various trees. 

Contact backyardbufferccmg@gmail.com for more information.

1. Recycle organic yard and kitchen waste on-site: Use on-site organic materials to increase soil organic matter and biodiversity in your yard and garden, improve stormwater absorption, create habitat, recycle nutrients, and reduce the need for synthetic fertilizers. 
2. Capture and use precipitation where it falls: Retain and filter stormwater on-site to improve water quality and reduce local flooding, erosion and drought impacts. These practices could apply to a wide array of residential locations, from single-family homes and HOA’s to apartment complexes, as well as parks, nature centers, businesses, municipal buildings, institutions like schools, hospitals, or libraries, or other community spaces.
3. Plant and conserve a wide variety of native plants: Design and manage landscapes with native plants for their ecosystem services, biodiversity, and habitat value. Make ecologically conscious planting decisions. Check out our Maryland Native Plants Program.
4. Protect pollinators and beneficial insects: Protect beneficial insects that provide valuable ecosystem services like pollination, natural pest control, decomposition, nutrient cycling, and nutrition for wildlife, like songbirds and small mammals. 
5. Reduce hazards to fish & wildlife: Recognize that improving habitat comes with a responsibility to be a good steward of Maryland’s wild creatures. Avoid creating ecological “traps” that harm fish and wildlife. 
6. Shrink your lawn footprint: Manage lawns in ways that reduce their negative impacts on our waterways and maximize ecological function and biodiversity of your residential landscape. 
7. Protect our waterways and shorelines: All Marylanders live, work, and play in a watershed. Wherever we are, the impacts of our actions can be felt all the way to the coast. Take action today to protect our waterways and shoreline areas. 
8. Educate friends, family, and neighbors about Bay-Wise/Water-Wise Maryland Living Landscape Practices: Tap into your social networks to spread the word and help make widespread environmental improvements.
    

Want to make your landscape more environmentally sound? Follow these steps:

1. Check out the Maryland Bay-Wise Program Landscape Certification page to learn about the new Maryland Living Landscapes Metric. If you reach between 80 and 100 points on the Metric, you qualify for a Bay-Wise site evaluation.

2. If you live in Charles County, contact Rose Markham, Bay-Wise Chair, at rosemarkham38@gmail.com, to sign up for a site visit for certification.  Do not submit your completed application before you contact your local Master Gardener program. 

If you live outside of Charles County, click HERE to find your Bay-Wise Coordinator.

3. Once a "Bay-Wise trained" Master Gardener evaluates your landscape, you will receive an updated metric with notes for additional steps need to be taken. On the metric, you can indicate if you prefer to receive a sign, a certificate, or both after certification.

We encourage participants to maintain their landscape throughout the year because you can still do plenty to reduce pollutants going into the Chesapeake Bay by following the suggestions in the Maryland Living Landscapes Metric.

Bay-Wise: Better Water Quality Through Smarter Gardening

The Maryland Bay-Wise Program is a homeowner education program conducted by Maryland Master Gardeners. 

The Chesapeake Bay is a national treasure and a vital part of the state of Maryland. Yet, the Bay is in trouble because of population pressures, pollution, and sediment runoff,f which affect its watershed. Most Maryland residents live within a half-mile of a drainage ditch, storm drain, stream, or river. Most of those waterways eventually drain into the Chesapeake Bay. What we do to maintain our own landscapes can affect the health of our local waterways, the Chesapeake Bay,y and our environment.

Overuse and misuse of pesticides and fertilizers, soil erosion, and poor plant selection have all damaged Maryland’s streams, rivers, and the Bay. Environmentally sound gardens and yards combined with sustainable gardening practices can help improve water quality and conserve our natural resources for future generations.

The MD Bay-Wise Program focuses on water quality. It comprises a comprehensive set of environmental topics that affect the quality and quantity of water here in Maryland. Most of these topics relate to landscape management; however, a few, like hydrology, wells and septic systems, hazardous household products, and water conservation, address household issues.

We all need to do our part to protect our waterways and environment. By changing a few simple landscape practices, you and your family can help keep Maryland communities healthy.

• University of Maryland Extension State Bay-Wise
• Charles County Stormwater Remediation Fee Credit: apply HERE to receive the credit toward the fee.
• Montgomery County Department of Environmental Projection: RainScapes
• Who Polluted the Potomac?
• Build Healthy Soil and Manage Water in Your Yard
• Backyard Conservation