Bay-Wise Landscape Management

HeronThe Maryland Bay-Wise Program is a homeowner education program conducted by Maryland Master GardenersSM in several counties, including St. Mary’s.

Most St. Mary’s County residents live within a half-mile of a storm drain, stream, or river. These waterways drain into the Chesapeake Bay. How we manage our landscapes can affect the health of our local waterways and the Chesapeake Bay. We all need to do our part. By changing a few simple landscape practices, you and your family can help keep our county healthy.

If you are interested in making your landscape more environmentally sound or have already done so and would like Master GardenersSM Bay-Wise trained and certified examiners to visit and perform an assessment, please follow these three steps:

  1. Download the MD Yardstick at http://baywise.umd.edu/files/Yardstick5Pager.pdf
  2. Complete the MD Yardstick
  3. Contact a St. Mary’s County Bay-Wise representative to schedule a site visit by emailing pat.dunlap@md.metrocast.net

Once your landscape is certified, you may choose to receive a small, metal sign to display and/or a certificate. Whether or not you have your landscape certified, you will learn how to reduce the pollutants harming our waterways by following the suggestions in the MD Yardstick.