BayScaping

BayScaping: Because the Bay Begins at our Front Door
BayScaping is a "grassroots" outreach program designed to encourage homeowners, businesses, and municipalities to reduce their use of pesticides and fertilizers. Developed in partnership with the Maine Board of Pesticides Control, BayScaping recognizes the connection between your backyard and Casco Bay. Homeowners who follow a six-step plan of environmentally-friendly lawn care can become certified BayScapers. Email us to request a copy of this six-step guide.

Start BayScaping Today with These Tips

▪ Keep your lawn area small, which will help reduce stormwater runoff. Instead of planting grass, use trees and shrubs to absorb rainwater and prevent soil erosion.

▪   If planting grass, use a Bay-friendly mix of low maintenance seeds. Click here to learn about grass seed mixes suited for a variety of growing conditions. You'll also find out where you can buy these mixes locally.
▪   Test your soil to see what, if any, fertilizer it needs. If you must apply fertilizer, wait until late summer/early fall, when the soil is warm enough to absorb it.
▪   Check out the guide Gardening to Conserve Maine's Landscape: plants to use and plants to avoid from Maine Cooperative Extension.

▪ Visit the Maine YardScaping website to learn how you can join the growing number of Mainers who have decided to change their yard care ways – for the health of the environment, people, and wildlife.

New - Pesticide Disposal for Maine Residents

Maine residents can get rid of their banned or unusable pesticides for free this fall. The Maine Board of Pesticides Control will collect and dispose of banned pesticides or pesticides that have become caked, frozen, or otherwise unusable at four sites throughout the state this fall. Get more info at www.thinkfirstspraylast.org, or call 287-2731.

YardScaping Demonstration

A new landscaping project has taken over a section of Portland's Back Cove trail. This low-impact landscaping method is modeled after Friends of Casco Bay's BayScaping program. Learn more about this project and watch a video here.

You Care about Yard Care!
Friends of Casco Bay helped conduct a survey of consumer's preferences about lawn care practices. Click here to read a summary of the results.

Finding Pesticides In Stormwater

Since 2001, Friends of Casco Bay has been sampling stormwater around the Bay to detect the presence of pesticides, bacteria, and nutrients -- pollutants that can damage water quality in Casco Bay. Learn about our findings in the Wildwood neighborhood of Cumberland Foreside.

Help Fund our BayScaping Program
Your donation will help our staff and volunteers connect with homeowners and businesses to teach them how to grow green lawns that keep Casco Bay blue. Click on the button below and write “BayScaping” in the designation box one you get to the billing page. Thank you!