OCSCD July Newsletter

July 2023

OCEAN COUNTY SOIL CONSERVATION DISTRICT PROGRAMS, PROJECTS, EVENTS & NEWS

Have a safe and enjoyable holiday celebration!

PARTNER PROJECTS

Residents, Schools, Municipalities Pilot Jersey-Friendly Yards Certification Program

Landscaping practices have a huge impact on our water quality and natural resources. In 2020, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection provided funding to Barnegat Bay Partnership (BBP) and Ocean County Soil Conservation District (OCSCD) to create the Jersey-Friendly Yards Certification Program, to address these concerns. The Jersey-Friendly Yards Certification Program engages individuals and communities in stewardship actions that help manage stormwater and reduce and prevent non-point source pollution, such as nutrient fertilizers that run off lawns and into our creeks, rivers and bay.

In the fall of 2022, two schools and two municipalities that enrolled in the Jersey-Friendly Yards Certification Program were selected to pilot the new initiative. Brick Township High School and Pinelands Regional High School, as well as Pine Beach Borough and Point Pleasant Borough, received funding to support completion of the certification requirements. Find out more about the Jersey-Friendly Yards Certification gardens and projects taking place.

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DIGGING DEEPER!

Summer Blooming Perennials to Celebrate!

Show your colors by adding some red, white and blue to your summer garden. These American natives support local bees, butterflies and birds by offering nectar, pollen, seeds and nesting material. Read more about these, and other July-blooming native plants on OCSCD's Blog. Use the Jersey-Friendly Yards Plant Database to search for colorful natives.

Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) produces showy scarlet-red flowers that are a hummingbird and butterfly magnet! Prefers moist rich soil and part shade.

Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) displays delicate white flowers and whorled leaves that provide food for bees and Monarch caterpillars. Thrives in dry, sandy or clay soil in full sun.

Great Blue Lobelia (Lobelia siphilitica) features tubular-shaped blue flowers that attract hummingbirds and bees. Tolerates a range of conditions - part shade, near-full shade or full sun, in sand or clay soil.