Viridescence - be green!

It's Earth Day! Here are some ways you can improve the health of our planet.  1. Replace disposable plastic products with  durable and reusable  products 2. Influence Environmental Policy -  Write Your Representative 3. Reduce your  carbon footprint 4. Learn about your local  watershed 5. Reduce  paper waste 6. Learn about  invasive species 7.  Upcycle 8. Conserve Water by… Only washing full loads of laundry Do not leave the water running…Instead… Wash produce in a bowl of water Defrost food in the refrigerator Keep a pitcher of drinking water in refrigerator Turn off water when brushing your teeth Take shorter showers Turn off water when washing your hair Retrofit showerheads, faucets, and aerators with WaterSense© Replace old toilets – consider a dual-flush toilet 9. Reduce Air Pollution by… Limit driving – carpool, public transportation, walking, and biking Take few trips – combine errands Keep automobile maintained and regular...

Water quality and marine life biodiversity are under attack from toxins that enter our watersheds. A watershed is an area of land that transports rain and snowmelt to streams and rivers and eventually to reservoirs, bays, and oceans. Household cleaners, garden herbicides and pesticides, plant and lawn fertilizers, detergents, vehicle oils, garbage, and animal feces are toxins that contribute to water pollution. These pollutants wash away with the rain and snowmelt, end up in our streams, rivers, bays, and oceans, and destroys habitat, creates dead-zones, and kills wildlife. Salt Creek Falls, Willamette National Forest, Oregon - 2020 Amy Bradley Here are five simple steps you can take to reduce water pollution. 1. Replace impermeable surfaces with permeable surfaces.  Solid surfaces, such as asphalt and concrete driveways and sidewalks are impermeable surfaces that do not let water penetrate their surface. Instead, water runs over impermeable surfaces collect...

Gardening does not have to be difficult or take very much space. (Click here to learn about container gardening). A few things it does take are planning and preparation. By planning your garden, you will maximize the use of your space, conserve resources, reduce the need to pesticides and herbicides, and increase your yields. Sketch the layout of your garden area including the number of each plant and the placement of each plant. (Click here for a table detailing the spacing requirements for some of the most common vegetables.) Next, determine the planting schedule. In order to do this, you need to determine the average last frost (ALF) date for your area. The National ClimateData Center is a resource to determine ALF dates. Simply select the State in which you reside to generate a table containing the ALF dates. On the left, is a list of cities – find the one closest to you. The next column has the probability of frost during (90, 50, and 10%) for the listed date. You wi...