1. Lawn Clippings Organic Waste

2. Problem Statement Grass clippings cause water quality problems Organic waste add nutrients to the water Decaying algae leads to bacteria Aquatic life has to move out or die.

3. Importance of our Topic We witness neighbors and lawn services blowing yard trash into our streets We see clippings being washed down the street We know that this decreases the dissolved oxygen level in our lakes

4. Storm Drains and Sewers Storm drains and sewers are not the same thing Storm drains are designed to route rain runoff into large pipes that lead directly to our lakes. There's no treatment or filtering for water that runs through storm drains. Storm Drains

5. Problem Lawn Clippings in our Lakes Bacteria in the lake decompose the clippings and use up more dissolved oxygen. This is called eutrophication. Aquatic life has to either move out or die.

6. Possible Solutions Mulching your grass

7. The Benefits of Mulching Leaving Clippings On The Lawn After Mowing Clippings left on the lawn recycle nutrients Clippings left on the lawn can increase the organic content of the soil and lead to Increased earthworm activity. Mulched lawns are more nutritious and healthy.

8. Mulching A ton of grass clippings contains more than 1,700 pounds of water. Mulching saves one-third of your mowing time Clippings left on the lawn do not cause thatch Left clipping on the lawn saves space in landfills

9. Solution: Composting Lawn clippings contain about 4% nitrogen, 0.5 to 1% phosphorus and 1 to 2% potassium All organic waste can be used It makes nutrient rich soil Compost piles can be started and maintained anywhere Composting piles can be kept in trash cans

10. Solution: Rain Gardens Rain gardens are small depressions between the lawn and lakes This process does not deprive the lake of water because it still reaches the lake

11. Rain Gardens

12. Home for Our Rain Garden