The woodland behind Texas Roadhouse is going to get dozed into a strip mall. I dug up trillium, phlox, and hyacinth. About half of the hyacinth went to Susan and the rest went into my yard. This was my first experience in a native woodland plant community in spring. Beautiful, peaceful, and a little sad.     Add Comment Palm Desert, California: Indian Ridge Country Club and The Living Desert Museum                     Submitted to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources today by the Geist Watershed Alliance. LARE provides funding for watershed mitigation. Boots on the ground in 2012! -Grant 1: Thorpe Creek Engineering Study -Grant 2: Subdivision Runoff Mitigation Monsato genetically modifies seeds to be resistant against glyphosate (a herbicide) and to produce bT (a naturally occurring pesticide). Unfortunately, nature is genetically modifying weeds and pests to be resistant against glyphsate and bT. I think the most interesting way to follow this story is by stock price.  Clean water in Indiana gets real. More government, in this case, is totally the right thing to do. Thanks to IWF for pushing the story. 
The Indiana Tree Project is dedicated to planting and expanding Indiana's native forests. By donating to plant trees, you will help wildlife, prevent soil erosion, support our state’s largest agricultural industry, and bring back natural beauty to our state. What is LARE?  Note: This is an incomplete list of sites. I will add a few more over the next few days. On December 8th, folks from Fishers stormwater engineering, the Marion and Hamilton County Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the Geist Watershed Alliance, Empower Results and the DNR toured several degraded sites along north western edge of Geist Reservoir. The next day, a smaller group toured these sites with two restoration ecologists from CardnoJF New. Why did we choose these areas?
1. We want to focus on areas where mitigation will make the most impact. All of these areas are in the Thorpe Creek Subwatershed, the most impaired region of the Geist/Upper Fall Creek Watershed. We are also looking for sites that are highly visible in the community. 2. Local residents are engaged and want to be part of the solution. 3. Much of the land at these sites is classified as "highly erodible" in our Watershed Management Plan. 4. The most effective way to improve water quality in urban areas is to focus on reducing the volume of upstream surface water runoff and to stabilize our streambanks. Topics @ the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society annual conference at the University of Indianapolis: corridors, woodland wildflowers and ferns, selecting natives for your site, and habitat connectivity for pollinators.    INPAWS is passionate about youth education and putting kids (especially kids in urban areas) in contact with nature. Letha's Fund, their youth initiative, awarded 12 grants and reached over 1400 kids this year. Here are some of them:    As usual, the bookstore was one of the highlights. The book titles will give you a good idea about what INPAWs is all about. My peeps.           What percentage of your property is impervious surfaces? Everyone lives in a watershed. How land is managed collectively influences stream habitat, water quality, and soil health. Impervious surfaces, such as sidewalks, parking lots, and streets, do not allow stormwater to infiltrate the ground. 
Native prairie plantings, forests, and wetlands help water to soak into the ground, recharging groundwater and filtering toxins. These habitats prevent nutrient overloading and associated water quality issues, such as toxic algal blooms. Consider these alternatives to hard, impervious surfaces to alleviate habitat challenges for wildlife and restore the natural water cycle. reprinted from the Indiana Wildlife Federation. Subject: Garden Complaints Thanks for the gardening intervention at last weeks board meeting. I understand this is a not a comfortable topic to escalate.I will think about how to soften the view into my backyard from the street and make some enhancements in the spring. In case you are interested about why I manage my property differently, check out this essay I wrote for the Indiana Native Plant and Wildflower Society, Page 8. Geist Reservoir is getting a lot of negative press in Indy Star right now. I understand that I am the minority on this topic, but I would like to see our subdivision be a leader in land management practices that are kinder to our Reservoir. |
