Sowing the Seeds for Healthy Waterways: How Your Gardening Choices Can Have a Positive Impact in Your Watershed
From fertilizer to plant selection, the many decisions a gardener makes impact the water quality of nearby rivers and streams. Sowing the Seeds for Healthy Waterways: How Your Gardening Choices Can Have a Positive Impact in Your Watershed explains the effect of nitrogen and phosphorus pollution on water quality and encourages the use of practices that minimize runoff.
This available in multiple versions, "basic" and "advanced" with and without presenter notes. The presenter notes provide an explanation for each slide and references so the presenter can find additional information on the topic.
- The basic version is designed to introduce water quality and gardening principles including:
- Background information on nitrogen and phosphorus
- An overview of work being done to address nitrogen and phosphorus pollution
- Gardening practices that limit the usage of nitrogen and phosphorus
- Practices to decrease runoff
- Basic version with presenter notes
- The advanced version is designed for an audience with a basic understanding of nitrogen and phosphorus. This presentation includes all of the information in the basic version plus:
- Detailed information on the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles
- The use of phosphorus in detergents
- EPA's and the states' work to address nutrient pollution within the context of the Clean Water Act
- Advanced version with presenter notes
Organizations are encouraged to create their own supplemental slides for Sowing the Seeds for Healthy Waterways to augment the presentation with local or state-specific information. Organizations are also welcome to create their own nutrient-focused presentations based on the information contained within Sowing the Seeds for Healthy Waterways.