How can you help preserve Jennifer Branch
while beautifying your lawn?
There is more All of Us Can Do to do to Make a Difference!
As a landowner in the Jennifer Branch Watershed you may be faced with problems such as...
- Erosion of your sloped yard or stream banks on your property
- Excessive runoff from your roof or driveway
- Flooding of lower parts of your property from excess storm water
- Non-native species in your yard.
Our goal here is to offer and assist you with simple solutions to these common problems using 'green' or watershed friendly principles and products.
INSTALL A GREEN SOLUTION, BUT HURRY, BECAUSE SUPPLIES AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AND LIMITED!
Downspout Disconnections - for gutter downspouts that currently flow directly onto the street and into a storm drain, they can be altered to drain onto lawn or gardens
GVC will be disconnecting at least 30 downspouts in this grant!
THE COST AND LABOR ARE 100% COVERED BY GVC! And the FIRST 7 RESIDENTS WILL GET A COMMUNITY BUSINESS SPONSORED GIFT CERTIFICATE!
Download the Jennifer Branch Spring Factsheet 2011 by click here (PDF)
Conklyns florist (formerly Beverly Hochstedt Florist) is offering a gift certificate for $50.00 if you disconnect your downspout!!
(A limited number are available)
Disconnecting your downspout doesn’t have to be directed toward a splash block.
You can also install a Rain Barrel!
Installation of a Rain Barrel - a large barrel (~50 gallons) that collects rainwater from your roof through your downspouts that you can use to water your lawn, wash your car, etc. It will help save on your water bill.
The cost is 50% covered by GVC and we will even come and install it for you if you wish!
Install a Garden yourself and have GVC assist with
Technical Advice!
- Planting a Rain Garden - a rain garden is a special, water loving garden that helps soak up and filter rain water from your roof, driveway, or other hard surfaces. By using native plants, which are adapted to MD’s seasonal droughts, watering, weeding and fertilizing are needed less. Less fertilizer means less nutrient pollution in Jennifer Branch and the bay. And native plant populations help support native wildlife.
- Bayscaped Gardens and Yards - a beautiful landscape, planted and maintained to benefit people, the local environment, and the Bay.
- A BayScape is valuable for the gardener or landowner because it offers greater visual interest than lawn, reduces the time and expense of mowing, watering, fertilizing and treating lawn and garden areas and can address areas with problems such as erosion, poor soils, steep slopes or poor drainage.
- A BayScaped landscape is also great for the environment. It uses native plants to provide habitat for local and migratory animals, improve water quality, and reduce the need for chemi-cal pesticides and herbicides. Once your yard is Bay Scaped it can be a certified Bay Wise Yard through a Master Gardener’s certificate program.
USING THESE GREEN SOLUTIONS WILL: Beautify your yard Help to preserve the water quality of Jennifer Branch Allow the storm water to reconnect with the floodplain. This means water will seep into the ground and move toward the stream, cleaning it of pollutants instead of running over roads, roofs and driveways carrying pollutants into the storm drain that empties into the stream. Enhance the riparian ecosystem by creating an area where native plants and animals want to live.
