Be a part of the solution. There are many ways to help protect watershed health at home.
The following links provide useful information to help you improve water quality and wildlife habitat in your yard and your community – you can attend or host a free natural gardening class, find small grants for a watershed project in your community, or get how-to instructions for composting or collecting rain water at home.
Resources: Brochures and Posters
Factsheets to help you control weeds and maintain your landscape without pesticides
Resources: Professional Landscapers
- The 2015 Backyard Habitat Certification Program (BHCP) Directory of approved professional landscapers. Each business listed in the directory attends workshops focused on objectives of the certification program and agrees to the following parameters through an MOU with Portland Audubon and Columbia Land Trust.
- Attend the Backyard Habitat landscaper training;
- When contacted by a Program participant, to provide an initial visit done by an employee who attended the Backyard Habitat landscaper training;
- Encourage the homeowner to landscape their property consistent with the criteria listed to become Backyard Habitat Certified. This includes:- “Strongly advise” clients to not plant noxious weeds that are listed in the Program certification criteria.
– “Strongly advise” clients to not use moderate to high hazard pesticides on their properties.
– When landscaping for certification, select native plants that have been identified as Willamette Valley natives through the Portland Plant List.
Resources: Websites
- Home Science: Backyard Conservation by HomeAdvisor (Thanks, Noah, for your suggestion!)
- Metro natural gardening
Free gardening classes, household hazardous waste information, composting, native plants, pesticide reduction - Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides
- Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District rain gardens, rain water harvesting, small grant opportunities, technical assistance for landowners, streamside re-vegetation projects, workshops and events
- City of Lake Oswego
Sherrie G., who earned her silver level Backyard Habitat certification in Spring 2013.
- Backyard Habitat Program
Certify your yard as backyard wildlife habitat, at-home site visits from trained staff to advise on invasive weed removal, native plants, pesticide reduction, stormwater management and more. - OSU Master Gardeners
Plant identification, general gardening advice, environmentally friendly disease and pest management, online and phone question hotline - Audubon Society
Urban wildlife information, wildlife rehabilitation center, wildlife identification, workshops and events - Catalog of Invasive Species Washington County Clean Water Services
- Native Plant Finder from Washington County Clean Water Services. Helps you identify native plants suitable for your particular landscape.
- Northwest Native Plant Guide, King County, WA, Detailed native plant information, help with landscape design and planning
- 4-County Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA)
Invasive weed identification, reporting and removal information - Friends of Tryon Creek State Park
Guided nature hikes and outdoor programs for adults, kids and families, volunteer events - Tualatin River Watershed Council
Small grants, landowner assistance, re-vegetation projects, watershed education programs, volunteer events, watershed tours, and more - OSU Extension Service Publications Catalog Entire collection of OSU how-to information on a wide variety of topics related to gardening, pests, land management, landscaping, wildlife habitat, watershed health, and more.