Responsibility Begins with You and Me.

We love the environment that we are all blessed with. It is amazing how nature and the earth renew resources and replenish damaged resources. With the stresses that modern day man places on our environment and earth, it now interferes with the natural process of replenishment and renewal.

So what can we do here in the Carolinas? How can we help the environment by improving our landscaping and outdoor living spaces? These are hard questions but we do have some solutions and answers. It begins with talking and recognizing what we are doing today is actually harming our precious environment.

Gardening with the environment in mind allows you to enjoy nature while helping to maintain healthy ecosystems. Remember these things when planning your patch and you can be guaranteed to have a truly green garden.

• Collect rainwater to water your flowers.
  
  
• Let part of your garden grow freely and see what wild flowers appear.
  
  
• Plant local species of trees.
  
  
• Plant pollinator-friendly plants, to attract butterflies and moths to your garden and provide them food.
  
  
• Never take plants or pick flowers from anywhere in the wild.
  
  
• Buy bulbs from cultivated stocks only (ask the shop or gardening center for advice).
  
  
• Stop using chemical pesticides -- try to use natural products instead.
  
  
• Use traps, parasites, and natural predators such as ladybirds.
  
  
• Use disease-resistant and pest-resistant plants.
  
  
• Use organic compost and mulch to improve soil health and reduce the need for pesticides and fertilizers.
  
  
• Don't use peat in your flower beds and vegetable gardens (peat is taken from ancient bog land, destroying some of our most precious wildlife areas). Instead, make your own compost with grass clippings and vegetable scraps from the house.
  
  
• Use plants that repel insects. Some herbs and flowers - including basil, chives, mint, marigolds, and chrysanthemums -- mixed in with other plants, help keep pests away.
  
  
• Don't use electrical equipment like leaf-blowers as they consume so much energy for so little gain. Use a rake instead -- it's better for your health too!
  
  
• Never pour antifreeze, oil or other chemicals on the ground, into storm sewers or down the drain. Take these toxic substances to your local waste disposal facility.
  
  
• Don't buy garden furniture or decking made of tropical hard wood -- mahogany for example -- unless it's got a Forest Stewardship Council label.
  
  
• Take time out to sit out in your backyard with friends and family, and appreciate the beauty of nature!

You can help stop global warming by taking these 10 steps to cut your yearly emissions of carbon dioxide by thousands of pounds.

1. Next time, buy a car that gets at least 30 miles per gallon (reduces carbon dioxide 2,500 pounds a year over a car that gets 10 mpg less).
   
   
2. Where you can, choose an electric utility company that does not produce power from polluting sources such as fossil fuels and nuclear fission. (Enormous potential reductions in carbon dioxide emissions.)
   
   
3. Replace standard light bulbs with energy-efficient fluorescent's. (Reduces emissions by 500 pounds per year light bulb.)
   
   
4. Replace worn-out home appliances with energy efficient models. (Reduces emissions by up to 3,000 pounds per year.)
   
   
5. Choose the best energy-saving models when you replace windows. (Reduces emissions up to 10,000 pounds per year.)
   
   
6. Wrap your water heater in an insulating jacket. (Reduces emissions up to 1,000 pounds per year.)
   
   
7. Install low-flow showerheads that use less water. (Reduces emissions up to 300 pounds per year.)
   
   
8. Ask your utility company for a home energy audit to pinpoint the biggest energy-wasters. (Potential reduction of thousands of pounds per year.)
   
   
9. Whenever possible, walk, bike, carpool or use mass transit. (Reduces emissions by 20 pounds for every gallon of gasoline used.)
   
   
10. Insulate walls and ceilings and save about 25% of home heating bills. (And reduce emissions by up to 2,000 pounds per year.)

How your lawn helps the environment:

• A well maintained lawn and landscape can enhance the "curb appeal" adding as much as 15% to the value of a home.
  
  

• Turf grass traps and removes dust and dirt from the air.
  
  
• 2,500 square feet of lawn absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and release enough oxygen for a family of four to breathe.
  
  
• On a hot summer day, lawns will be 30 degrees cooler than asphalt and 14 degrees cooler than bare soil.
  
  
• The front lawns of eight houses have the cooling effect of about 70 tons of air conditioning. That's amazing when the average home has an air conditioner with just a three or four ton capacity.  The cooling effect of irrigated turf reduces the amount of fuel that must be burned to provide the electricity which powers the air conditioners.
  
  
• Watered when the grass plant needs it, turf grass will very efficiently and effectively use almost every drop.
  
  
• Turf grass acts as a natural fiber, reducing pollution by purifying the water passing through its root zone.
  
  
• A healthy sodded lawn absorbs rainfall six times more effectively than a wheat field and four times better than a hay field.
  
  
• A sodded lawn will absorb greater amounts of rain than a seeded lawn even after three years of growth.
  
  
• For backyard ball games or the Super Bowl, athletes of all sizes prefer the green cushion of turf grass.
  
  
• Turf grass is the only place for having picnics, or just plain relaxing.
  
  
• Doctors have shown that people recover faster in a hospital when given a landscape view, rather than seeing only the walls of adjoining buildings.
  
  
• Grass blades take in carbon dioxide, and the worst atmospheric pollutants, and gives back pure oxygen.
  
  
• Noise reduction: grasses reduce undesirable noise by 20-30%.
  
  
• Turf cools the atmosphere by reflecting 50% of the sun's heat.

The Green Life™ is our free Environmental Association that you can join to participate with other like-minded residents who enjoy "green" life!  As a member of The Green Life™, you will receive the following free benefits:

• The Green Life, our quarterly e-newsletter that is delivered straight to your email box.  This e-newsletter contains the latest trends on "green" space management techniques, lawn and plant life tips, guest columns from certified arborists and horticulturists, and plenty of shared tips on enjoying the beautiful green spaces that we live in!
  
  
• Special Green Tips & Alerts.  As we uncover new and exciting green tips and news, we will deliver it to your email box.  Use these tips to make your green space more special...or learn a new technique for conserving water or recycling lawn materials.
  
• Invitations to Green Events.  All of our green events are family and child oriented!  It may be a picnic and nature trail walk.  Or it could be a day of flying kites and planting trees in one of our many community parks.  Or it could be a free demonstration on making your own compost or green recycling plan.  All green events are free and fun for all members of your family!