LOWA

Beautiful Yards for a healthy Lake of the Ozarks workshop a success

written by Janet Dabbs

The Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance's "Beautiful Yards for a Healthy Lake of the Ozarks" workshop at the Lodge of Four Seasons Saturday, March 26 was, according to Executive Director Donna Swall, “A sold out solid success”.

Workshop Goal

The goal of the workshop was to educate lake property owners about LILs, Low Impact Landscaping, techniques. LILs are techniques landowners can implement to slow down rain water runoff so as to reduce sediments from entering and polluting the lake.

Sessions Content

The sold out sessions included discussions about establishing and maintaining watershed friendly yards, healthy soils, integrated pest management and chemicals, planting the right plant in the right place, and rain gardens. Each session was presented by experts in their field. Local residents expressed great satisfaction with all the new knowledge and information they received.

For a $10 registration fee, participants received materials and handouts from the six sessions, lunch, a tee shirt and a native perennial plant. Due to the overwhelming response registration was cut off at a packed house of 96. But those who missed out will have another chance as the workshop will be repeated later this summer at a date and location yet to be determined.

Contact Information

To keep posted about the next session:
Contact LOWA at
lowasec@soslowa.org to be put on the waiting list. “I was thrilled to see the amount of people that were interested in learning what they can do to make a difference in lake water quality,” said Department of Natural Resources Water Protection Project Manager Trish Rielly.

The workshop was a cooperative effort between the Lodge of Four Seasons, Lake TV 25, Ameren Missouri, Prairie Hill Farm, the Master Gardeners, the Master Naturalists, the United State Department of Agriculture, the Missouri Department of Conservation and the University of Missouri Extension Office.

LOWA will be offering several how-to workshops this summer including constructing and installing rain gardens and rain barrels, as well as which native plants work well where.

See Brochure

Sessions and speakers at the workshop included:

A. Watershed Introduction and History: Caroline Toole
B. Healthy Lawn Care: Ted Fry
C. Healthy Soils: Ted Fry
D. Integrated Pest Management and Chemicals: Bob Broz
E. Right Plant Right Place: Jodi Moulder
F. Rain Gardens: Adam Coulter.

The workshop was just the start of an ongoing effort to improve beauty and provide assistance in landscaping to keep our lake water quality great by planting rain gardens to slow down stormwater runoff into the lake. Attendees will learn how they can landscape to minimize lake pollution and have a beautiful low maintenance yard.

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More Info On BYHL June 25 Workshop

More Details on the BYHL June 25 Workshop<.h4>

The Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance, LOWA, is offering a second Beautiful Yards for a Healthy Lake Workshop 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Saturday, June 25 in the Valencia Room at the Lodge of the Four Seasons in Lake Ozark.

A $10 fee includes; course materials, lunch, a tote bag and a native plant. Workshop subjects are; Watersheds 101, Healthy Lawn and Soils, Integrated Pest Management and Chemicals, Right Plant in the Right Place, and Rain Gardens.

The workshop is part of an ongoing effort to keep our lake water quality great and provide assistance in landscaping by teaching property owners how to plant beautiful rain gardens. Rain Gardens slow down stormwater from running into the lake. Storm water runoff is the number one pollutant to Missouri waterways. Attendees will learn how they can landscape to minimize lake pollution and have a beautiful low maintenance yard.

The workshop is hosted by LOWA in partnership with the Master Naturalists, Ameren Missouri, the University of Missouri Extension Master Gardeners, Prairie Hill Farm, the DNR, EPA, MDC, Lake TV 32 and the Lodge of the Four Seasons.

Slow It Down-Spread It Out-Soak It In

The EPA web-site describes this video as follows:

This new 9-minute video, "Reduce Runoff: Slow It Down, Spread It Out, Soak It In," highlights green techniques such as rain gardens, green roofs, and rain barrels that help manage stormwater runoff in a more sustainable manner. The film, produced in partnership with the U.S. Botanic Garden, showcases green techniques that are being used in urban areas to minimize the impacts of stormwater runoff on the quality of downstream receiving waters.

The goal is to mimic the natural way water moves through an area before development by using design techniques that infiltrate, evaporate, and reuse runoff close to its source. The green techniques, including rain gardens, green roofs, rain barrels and cisterns, are very effective at reducing the volume of stormwater runoff and capturing harmful pollutants. These green practices increasingly are being used by communities across the country to help protect and restore water quality. Using vegetated areas that capture runoff also improves air quality, mitigates the effects of urban heat islands, and reduces a community's overall carbon footprint

The video includes green techniques on display in 2008 at the U.S. Botanic Garden's "One Planet- Ours!" Exhibit. It also highlights green techniques at U.S. EPA's Headquarters in Washington, D.C. including recently completed cisterns. Six 1,000-gallon cisterns installed in the basement at EPA's West Building now collect roof runoff from the building. This cistern water irrigates planting beds and grass in front of EPA's West Building along Constitution Avenue, thereby conserving water and reducing runoff to the Chesapeake Bay.

Go here to watch the video.

Copyright © May 5, 2011 Lake of the Ozarks Watershed Alliance, Inc.