River Friendly Yards

Our lawns and yards and the maintenance they require can have a significant impact upon the health of our waterways and natural environment.

Storm water runoff from rain and irrigation can wash fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides from our yards into storm drains and, ultimately, into our river and its tributaries. For this reason, we all essentially live on waterfront property.

Excessive nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) from fertilizers can cause serious algal blooms that are harmful to the aquatic vegetation, wildlife and even human health. Herbicides and pesticides can also be harmful or fatal to native aquatic vegetation, fish, wildlife, and humans.

Fortunately, opportunities exist for all of us to reduce our impact on the river by changing our lawn maintenance practices and our landscaping choices.


© Dr. Gerry Pinto

The following information will provide some simple, easy and inexpensive ways for us all to get started on the road to a "river friendly yard" and to make more informed decisions about how we maintain our lawns.

By being more conscientious and following these easy tips, we can all reduce the amount of fertilizers and chemicals that we use and reduce the amount of runoff that flows from our yards into our river.

The "river-friendly lawn" recommendations and tips are based on the Florida Yards and Neighborhoods principles developed by the University of Florida IFAS Extension.