SPEAKERS:
Dr. Peter Landschoot, The Pennsylvania State University
Sean Tuomey, Tuomey Turfgrass Consulting, LLC
Shane Young, Certified Urban Nutrient Management Planner, Administrative Coordinator-Landscape, Prince William County Public Schools
Bryan Seipp, Center for Watershed Protection, Inc.
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Improving water quality in local water bodies and in large systems like the Chesapeake Bay by reducing the amount of nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorus) entering the system has become increasingly important. One potential solution to this problem has been to manage the amount of nutrients that are being applied to the landscape. The agriculture community has been practicing this type of management for years. Recently, the focus has expanded to look at urban areas, specifically, lawns, athletic fields and golf courses. These often highly managed landscapes offer significant opportunity to address water quality impacts by matching the needs of the plants or turf to the amount of fertilizer being applied. The goal of this practice is to apply only the amount of fertilizer needed to keep the vegetation healthy and prevent runoff or leaching. Residential lawns and athletic fields can be particularly challenging to manage nutrients on because of highly compacted soils and homeowner practices. This webcast will explore how the management of nutrients on residential lawns and athletic fields impacts water quality, the relevance to regulatory systems like Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) and MS4 permits, management tools and recommendations to improve soils, how to reduce fertilizer inputs without sacrificing turf quality, how turf professionals communicate with their clients and how local and state governments can work with the turf and landscape industry to promote urban nutrient management.
Please note: if you are having trouble registering for the webcast, simply email Cecilia Lane, watershedgal@hotmail.com and she will get you registered right away!