Baby it's cold outside!

(by Kristie Rabasca, P.E., LEED AP, and occasional gardener)

And most of the trees are bare now. They have shed their leaves to the ground, and left you with the work of annual fall yard clean up. But what to do with all those leaves? As we complete fall clean up activities, such as raking and cutting back perennials, it is important to keep in mind the health of the waters around us. The Center for Watershed Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency provide recommendations for proper management of yard waste in order to protect our waters:

The Best Option: Keep yard waste on your property by mulching leaves and grass clippings into your lawn, or by composting in a responsible way. Small quantities of leaves can be mulched into the lawn with grass clippings as you mow. Larger quantities of leaves may need to be composted. Compost generally consists of the following materials:

• Browns—Includes materials such as dead leaves, branches , twigs
• Greens—Includes materials such as grass clippings, vegetable waste, fruit scraps, and coffee grounds
• Water

Here is one way to compost effectively:

1. Find a dry shady spot for your compost bin or pile that is accessible to your wheel barrow and a garden hose. Plan on enough space for two piles, so you can add to one, while the other “cooks.”
2. Add your brown and green materials as you collect them, making sure larger pieces are chopped or shredded.
3. Moisten dry materials as they are added.
4. Once your compost pile is established, mix grass clippings and green waste into the pile and bury fruit and vegetable waste under 10 inches of compost material.
5. Optional: Cover top of compost with a tarp to keep it moist.
6. When the material at the bottom is dark and rich in color, your compost is ready to use (this is usually occurs in two months to two years).
7. Remember that no matter what you do (don’t have enough green, don’t have enough brown, water too much, or water too little, or even if you let it freeze in the winter…) it will eventually turn into lovely dark compost!

The Next Best Option: Take yard waste to the transfer station for composting. Make sure you use the paper bags that will decompose.

Don’t blow or rake yard waste into the street – it will clog the storm drains which can cause flooding and ultimately cost your Town more to clean out those catch basins and pipes.

Don’t dump yard waste onto an embankment near a stream or river - It can clog the stream or river suffocating the fish and organisms that live in these delicate ecosystems.

Don’t burn your leaves – Leaves will naturally compress in volume so rapidly that after just one winter of stockpile you will have a very small pile that will be easier to manage in the spring.

For more information on composting, visit one of the following websites:

• EPA Website on Composting
• University of Maine Cooperative Extension website for Gardening and Horticulture

BASWG Presented Lane Construction with a Volunteer Reginition Award

On October 8, 2009 the Bangor Area Stormwater Group (BASWG) presented the Lane Construction Corporation with a volunteer service award for their generous donations in support of our Regional Stream Cleanups.

Each year BASWG coordinates the Annual Regional Stream Cleanup. This year was our 4th annual event and over 800 volunteers showed up with bags and buckets in hand to collect litter from the watersheds of our local streams and rivers, at the 10 events in Bangor, Brewer, Orono, Old Town, Hampden, Veazie, and Milford.

All in all, over 1,000 bags of trash were collected, totaling an estimated 8.2 tons! Some of the most interesting items found include an old pool table, a wheel chair, and foreign currency. However, most of the volume of trash collected was made of small every-day items such as cigarette butts, food wrappers, and disposable coffee cups.

Had it not been collected, all of this litter would have been carried into our local waterways in stormwater runoff, the water that runs over the surface of the ground during rain storms. At the Brewer Stream Cleanup volunteers learned that stormwater carries other pollutants to the stream as well, such as lawn care products and pet waste, and that we can reduce stormwater pollution year round by doing things like using less fertilizer on our lawns, and picking up our pets’ waste. Special appearances of Stormy the Stormwater Duck also reminded volunteers of this message, which was delivered in the Ducky Ads that aired on TV and radio this summer.

The event couldn’t have been what it was without its generous sponsors, including Lane Construction, NH Bragg, Bangor Daily News, Edwards Family Shop-N-Save, Casco Bay Energy, Union Street Athletics, and others.

Eugene Weldon, Environmental Coordinator at Lane Construction, discusses his company’s role as an event sponsor: “It is through community projects like these stream cleanups that we are able to share our concern for the environment and work together as a team to improve the quality & appearance of those communities. The Lane Construction Corporation is committed to safety and was pleased to provide 500 T-Shirts for these events. The t-shirts were bright orange to increase the visibility of our volunteers and we know how important it is to be visible when working in public areas. We are grateful to the Bangor Area Storm Water group for working with their members to coordinate these events regionally and to all of the volunteers who participated in these events that made them a success.”

The Bangor Area Storm Water Group is comprised of the cities/towns of Bangor, Brewer, Hampden, Milford, Old Town, and Veazie as well as the Bangor International Airport, Dorothea Dix Psychiatric Center, Eastern Maine Community College, Maine Air National Guard, University of Maine, University College of Bangor, Maine DEP, UMaine Cooperative Extension and the Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District, working together to make the Bangor Area a better place to live and work.

"Follow the Flow" at the Cumberland Fair!

Have you seen this poster around your town?
The Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District has brought to life the image on the poster for their display at this year's Cumberland Fair.

Visit the horticulture building to see the display and learn about things you can do on your property to reduce polluted runoff and protect local water bodies.

Scarborough Public Works Open House

Scarborough residents are invited to attend the Public Works' Open House! This is a great opportunity to learn more about what the Department does and meet the staff. There will be events for all ages, and kids will love checking out all the construction equipment! Lunch will be served from 11:00-1:00.

Date: Saturday, September 26, 2009
Time: 9:00 am - 1:00 pm
Location: 20 Washington Avenue in Scarborough

View the flier here.

Volunteers needed in South Portland

Join the efforts to restore Long Creek by assisting with a large-scale planting project on Friday, September 18th, along the south branch tributary of Long Creek at Philbrook Avenue in South Portland.

What: Volunteers are needed to help plant trees and shrubs
When: Friday, September 18th, 9:00 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. (come for an hour or for the day)
Where: Intersection of Philbrook Avenue and John Roberts Road
RSVP: by 5:00 p.m. on September 15th to Betty Williams at or call at 892-4700
What to Bring: Wear appropriate clothing and bring your gloves and a shovel (we will have some on site). Snacks and water will be provided.

Planting will take place if there is a light rain, so plan accordingly. In the case of heavy rain, the event will be postponed and volunteers will be notified via email by Thursday, September 17th at 3:00 p.m. Please contact Betty Williams if you have any questions.

Volunteers will install approximately 350 native trees and shrubs to create a riparian area that will provide wildlife habitat and food for aquatic animals, and shade and temperature control for the stream.
This large scale planting would not be possible without volunteers, the support of business partners, General Growth Properties (Maine Mall), Hampton Inn, EconoLodge, The Boulos Co., Eastern Mall Office Park, Coca Cola and Hannaford and the support and leadership of the City of South Portland, the South Portland Land Trust, Gorrill-Palmer Consulting Engineers, Boyle Associates, White Bros., Inc. and Bourne Landscape.

This planting is being completed as part of a larger project to address stormwater from Philbrook Avenue, which is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that is being administered by the Clean Water State Revolving Fund program.

Visit http://www.restorelongcreek.org/ to learn more about the restoration project.

Michigan study shows water quality improvement after P fertilizer ban

Corn gluten is an excellent organic, phosphorus-free fertilizer option. How do you know it's P-free? Look for a zero in the second number (9-0-0).

Research done at the University of Michigan shows that phosphorus levels in the Huron River dropped an average of 28% after the City of Ann Arbor adopted an ordinance that banned the use of lawn fertilizer containing phosphorus.

An article about the study, which was published in the August 14th online edition of the journal, Lake and Reservoir Management, is available here.

Storm drain stenciling in Southern Maine

The Casco Bay Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) was out in force on July 10th to paint clean water messages next to storm drains in Portland.

WGME covered the event. View the video here!

Students Spray Paint for Healthy Lawn Care

Milford, ME—The Penobscot County Soil and Water Conservation District in conjunction with the Bangor Area Storm Water Group (BASWG) and the University of Maine Cooperative Extension will be spray painting a new message on the streets of Milford.

Students from Upward Bound will be visiting the neighborhoods in Milford on July 23rd and 27th to stencil, REDUCE YOUR USE OF LAWN CHEMICALS, DRAINS TO RIVER on pavement near storm drains to remind residents that stormwater flows unfiltered the Penobscot River. The stencil also depicts a Rubber Ducky, which has become the symbol of stormwater pollution sick the “Ducky Ad” aired on television in 2005. In addition to stenciling messages next to the storm drains, the students will be leaving door hangers at area houses to educate residents abut the project and stormwater pollution in general.

Stormwater is rain that does not soak into the ground, but rather flows over the surface of the ground into the nearest body of water. As the water travels, it collects pollution such as pesticides, fertilizers, yard clippings, pet waste, loose soil, gasoline and oil. Storm drains act like funnels, transporting the stormwater from our streets and driveways directly into local waterways.

Chris Brewer of the Penobscot County Soil & Water Conservation District explains that there are many things we can all do to reduce stormwater pollution: “We are encouraging home owners to reduce or eliminate the use of lawn pesticides and fertilizers, pick up their pet’s waste, keep their vehicles well-tuned, and plant vegetation over bare ground and around bodies of water. All of these things dramatically reduce the amount of pollution entering our waterways, and improve water quality.”

The BASWG is a comprised of seven municipalities and other entities, working together to meet permit requirements to make the Bangor Area a better place to live and work. For more information on BASWG and many stormwater friendly homeowner tips visit our website at http://www.baswg.org/

Upward Bound is a federally funded program which assists qualified students to improve their skills in high school and prepare to enter and succeed in college. Upward Bound provides academic support during the school year and an intense six-week residential summer experience at the University of Maine. For more information visit www2.umaine.edu/ub/.