Sustainable Landscaping

Appealing landscapes play an important role in increasing property values. Unfortunately, many landscapes are not managed efficiently. This can increase maintenance costs, waste natural resources, and pollute the environment. By utilizing sustainable landscaping practices, professional landscapers and home owners can produce beautiful landscapes while reducing maintenance costs and protecting the environment.

Sustainable landscaping practices can produce significant economic and environmental benefits. Savings include reduced labor, water, and fertilizer costs, lower hauling expenses and disposal fees, and less exposure to workman's compensation claims due to crew injury from lifting heavy loads of green material. Grasscycling, composting, and mulching return valuable organic material to the soil, which increases the water-holding capacity of soil, reduces erosion, and conserves water. Proper watering, fertilizing, and pruning along with Integrated Pest Management can encourage healthier, disease-resistant plants and can reduce the amount of pesticides, fertilizers, and other toxic runoff entering storm drains and polluting creeks, lakes, and rivers.

The Board encourages the use of sustainable landscaping practices and has funded several urban landscape projects throughout the state. The Board partnered with the City of Sacramento, Department of Utilities to protect water quality in the rapidly-growing North Natomas area of the city. Storm drains carry water directly from street gutters into detention basins and then into the Sacramento River. Seemingly innocent activities associated with maintaining landscapes and homes can discharge pollutants into the storm drain system. Overwatering lawns, washing cars or draining spas can wash green waste, pesticides, fertilizers, pet feces, home repair debris, motor oil, antifreeze, and other pollutants into neighborhood detention basins. The North Natomas Landscape Management Outreach Program encouraged North Natomas residents to use responsible landscape and home maintenance practices, and it is hoped that the educational outreach techniques utilized in this program can serve as a model to help communities protect local creeks, rivers, and waterways throughout the state. As part of this program, the North Natomas Landscape Plant Guidelines were developed to reduce green waste and conserve water by reducing the over planting of trees, shrubs, and groundcovers in new developments.

The Board is working with the Department of General Services to improve landscaping practices at Capitol Park and is also participating in the Interagency Coordination Committee to reduce non-point source pollution in California.

For a summary of other Board-funded projects, visit Demonstration Projects.

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Informational Materials from CIWMB

Last updated: October 21, 2008

Organic Materials Management http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Organics/

Contacts: http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Organics/Contacts.htm