Are You Baywise?

Baltimore City’s Master Gardeners are active participants of the Maryland’s Bay-Wise Program. The purpose of the program is to promote better water quality through smarter gardening. We have learned ways to help home and landowners to decrease the amount of toxics, nutrients, and sediments that enter Maryland waterways and ultimately reach the Chesapeake Bay.

Although toxins and sediments contribute to the Chesapeake Bay’s health, Nitrogen and Phosphorus are the two primary pollutants! Agriculture sewage treatment plants, septic systems, urban/suburban runoff, and emissions from automobiles and power plants are all sources of Nitrogen and Phosphorus.

In a typical year, heavy spring rains wash these pollutants into tributaries and the Bay, where they contribute to algal blooms. Once the algal blooms die, the oxygen in the water is reduced enough to create dead zones in the Bay. This negatively impacts rockfish, crabs, oysters, and other creatures in the Chesapeake Bay. Listed below are some ways you can help to Save the Bay!

You are a Baywise Homeowner if you:

Fertilize Wisely
Water Efficiently and Mow Properly
Control Stormwater Runoff
Mulch Appropriately
Recycle Your Yard Waste
Manage Pests with safe Pest Management
Plant Wisely
Encourage Wildlife
Protect the Waterfront

Does Your Yard Measure Up?
Maryland’s Bay-Wise Program offers Home and Landowners three ways to get yards or landscapes certified: Landscapes with Lawns, Landscapes without Lawns, and Vegetable Gardens. To qualify your yard or landscape as Bay-Wise, download and complete the appropriate “Bay-Wise Yardstick”.

Bay-Wise Yardstick for Lawns

Bay-Wise Yardstick w/o Lawns

Bay-Wise Yardstick for Veggie Gardens

Then contact Baltimore City's Master Gardener President, Dorothy Wells, to schedule a certification visit! It’s easy! All you need are 36” or more to qualify!

Bay Facts:
Did you know the Chesapeake Bay Watershed covers 64,000 square miles? It stretches from the headwaters of the Susquehanna River in Cooperstown, New York (home of the Baseball Hall of Fame) to Virginia Beach. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary (where fresh water and salt water come together) in North America. It was once the most productive estuary in the WORLD!

Want More Information?

Chesapeake Bay Foundation

BayWise Landscape Management

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For more information, contact Dorothy Wells, President

Last updated: 11/7/2010