It’s the time of year when everyone feels the urge to get outside, garden, and wonder how to have the best yard possible—at least I am. I recently moved into my first house, so I am one step closer to having my dream yard full of native plants to feed birds, insects, and other wildlife while making sure our rivers are great habitats too. Following through on my own advice from our fall 2023 Flowing Forward webinar series, I filled out a form to have my yard assessed by our partners at Friends of the Winooski, who offer guidance related to managing stormwater in yards. These free consultations are part of the Storm Smart program, which provides homeowners with the resources they need to slow and reduce stormwater runoff before it can cause erosion, degrade water quality, impact sensitive habitat, and accumulate downstream, helping to mitigate stormwater flow and water pollution.
The stream in my yard running high during the July 2024 flooding.
The team came out on a sunny Friday afternoon this spring to walk around my 0.35-acre yard and come up with ideas for how best to manage stormwater. My dog Gus and I followed them to provide insight into what my partner and I had seen so far and sleuth out what happens when our neighborhood is hit with heavy rain. We walked through, taking a look at the stormwater drainage stream adjacent to my yard, the spots where water pools, and the variety of plants. The team brought their expertise and asked me questions as we walked through.
Questions included:
Flowers growing in un-mowed yard.
These questions helped determine my needs and how I use my land, which was important to help figure out what changes can or should be made. They listened to what my concerns are, not just for my own yard, but for my neighborhood, and took those into account when writing the report and suggesting actions to take. Within a few weeks, I had the report in my email inbox, which described the physical conditions of the property, recommendations for actions to take, and additional resources I could use to manage my property. It included detailed information about current conditions, such as drainage, soil type, and slope, as well as things I can do, such as installing a rain barrel and removing non-native plants to replace them with native plants.
Japanese Barberry
All of this got me thinking, and I started to plan for what I can do to make my yard storm smart. I bought some Joe Pye Weed seeds to plant in the fall, started planning my rain barrel install, and still haven’t mowed some portions of my lawn, which helps slow water down. I have also started the arduous process of removing nasty invasive Japanese Barberry and Burning Bush, and am hard at work researching what native plants would be best to take their place.
I am glad to have gotten this foundation of knowledge from a whole-watershed perspective and I am definitely thinking about how my actions in my yard have an impact on the wider community. The report, and the time in person talking with the team, were invaluable and made me feel more confident in being able to handle our yard in a river-friendly way as first-time homeowners. I know that it will be a long road to get my yard to my goal of being a native plant oasis, but I am glad to have gotten a good starting list with the Storm Smart consultation.
Ferns growing in un-mowed grass.
Depending on the house, individual, and location in the watershed, there may be different ways to make a difference. That is the beauty of the Storm Smart program, it provides individuals with the tools they need to implement stormwater best management practices that are tailored to their property.
Whether a consultation is done by Friends of the Winooski or Friends of the Mad River, the two watershed groups are able to provide assessments for free to individuals, no matter the size of their yard. Check out either of their websites to sign up for your Storm Smart Assessment.
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