FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts in association with the Tulsa County Conservation District are proud to announce the launch of the new Yard by Yard program in Tulsa County.
This program highlights citizens who implement urban conservation practices that promote clean water, local resiliency and positively impact their communities, one yard at a time. Yard by Yard starts in Tulsa County on August 1, 2020.
“Urban citizens do not always realize what a big difference they can make in our communities by just adding a few ‘earth friendly’ practices,” said Kevin Mink, USDA-NRCS & Oklahoma County Conservation District Urban Soil Specialist. “Through the Yard by Yard project we can highlight the excellent work that urban residents are already doing and encourage others to try out projects that help build resiliency within our community.” Kevin Mink works for the Oklahoma County Conservation District and is the driver behind the “Yard by Yard” program, which kicked off in Oklahoma County last month. Kevin is helping to launch the program in Tulsa County too.
Resiliency is added to the urban environment when yards have healthy soils. Healthy soils can mean that yards are more tolerant to droughts and during times of heavy rain, the healthy soils will encourage infiltration. This water infiltration is key to reducing flooding which can be especially problematic in urban areas where there is so much impervious surface like streets and parking lots. When it rains, these impervious surfaces carry pollutants like pesticides, fertilizer, drips of oil, paint, and other pollutants into the storm drains. These storm drains empty into the local streams. These pollutants can wreak havoc on the critters and wildlife that call these areas home. In addition to maintaining healthy soils and cleaner water, another major goal of the new urban project is to provide food for pollinators, like bees and butterflies that need food sources and host plants in cities.
Tulsa County residents can submit a video or pictures of their yard along with a simple checklist of activities to see if they qualify for the Yard by Yard project. The Yard by Yard project offers practices to use in four areas; soil, water, food, and habitat conservation.
The conservation activities include easy to complete actions like maintaining a pesticide and herbicide free yard, increase mowing height, using rain barrels to collect water, composting, planting native plants, use of host plants for native wildlife, and more.
Each activity on the checklist is connected to additional resources to help guide residents who are interested in lawns that “give back to nature.”
For more information and submit your own yard, visit www.okconservation.org/yardbyyard or tulsaccd.org/yard-by-yard-community-resiliency-project/. For more information on The Tulsa County Yard by Yard project contact Gabriael Parker at tulsaccd@conservation.ok.gov.
Selected participants will receive a yard sign and free native plant seed. Participants will also be highlighted in ongoing webisodes that will be used to educate the public about the Yard by Yard project. Seed packets can also be shared by the successful participants with their neighbors, so the education portion of the project is enhanced by a neighbor to neighbor approach.
“Through the Yard by Yard project we can highlight the excellent work that Oklahoma County residents are already doing and encourage others to try out projects that help build resiliency within our community,” said Kevin Mink.
The Yard by Yard project is funded by The Kirkpatrick Foundation and the Oklahoma Association of Conservation Districts with cooperation from the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, Friends of Blue Thumb, and the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service.