Adopt a Drain – Spring 2024
Welcome to our ‘Adopt a Drain’ spring newsletter
Spring is here, bringing with it yardwork and gardening galore. But did you know some of your gardening habits could be polluting local lakes and rivers? Learn how small changes can make a big difference below ⬇.
The journey of grass clippings and fertiliser…
It’s time to take a closer look at two sneaky pollutants often linked to yardwork: grass clippings and fertiliser. Join us on a quick journey to see how these everyday items travel from our homes to local waterways…
- THE JOURNEY BEGINS
It starts innocently enough – on your front lawn or driveway. Maybe after mowing the grass, you sweep the clippings onto the road. Or after fertilising the lawn, some of that extra fertiliser has trickled onto the driveway.
No big deal, right?
2. BUT THEN IT RAINS…
The rain sweeps those grass clippings and excess fertiliser off your property and down the storm drains. It seems like they’ve just disappeared. But here’s the thing: our storm drains lead somewhere – right into local lakes, rivers and wetlands.
It might seem harmless, but it’s where the trouble begins.
3. NUTRIENTS GONE WILD
Grass clippings and fertiliser contain nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. When too many nutrients enter our lakes and rivers, they can cause algae to grow out of control. This process is called eutrophication. Too much algae makes the water dirty, uses up oxygen, and harms aquatic life. Sometimes, harmful algae blooms can form, which produce toxins that are dangerous to people and animals.
What you can do
How do we stop this ‘nutrient journey’ before it even begins?
Sweep up grass clippings and keep them off driveways and roads
Options include: composting, using as mulch in your garden, or taking them to your nearest green waste station.
Check the weather before applying fertiliser and use as sparingly as possible
If it is forecasted to rain within the next 48 hours, hold off on applying fertiliser on your property. Less is more when it comes to use – only use what is absolutely needed.
Turn your lawn into a low-maintenance native ‘meadow’
Transforming even a small patch of your lawn into a garden of native shrubs can help local bees, birds and lizards, as well as reducing stormwater runoff. Plus, native gardens are incredibly low maintenance and require little to no fertiliser or mowing!
WAI volunteer Georgie has put together an epic blog on the benefits of replacing lawn space with native plants.
Take the spring pledge
Join us in protecting local waterways by taking the spring pledge to sweep up loose grass clippings and not using fertiliser if it is forecast to rain within 48 hours.
An ‘Adopt a Drain’ refresher:
Whatever goes down our storm drains eventually flows (untreated!) into our waterways. ‘Adopt a Drain’ encourages individuals and groups to adopt the storm drains in their neighbourhood. This means making a pledge to help keep it clear of pollutants. By doing so, we can keep our lakes and rivers swimmable, protect aquatic life and maintain the health of our ecosystems.