Patch's Picks: Going Green

Earth Day was celebrated this week, and to help residents continue this effort throughout the year Patch is sharing tips and ideas for going green and keeping Lake St. Clair clean.

Joyce Janicki, a St. Clair Shores resident and member of the Yardeners, a non-profit group of local gardeners dedicated to environmentally safe gardening, shared some ideas residents can put to use in their own backyards.

"People have to be mindful of the lake. If you multiply all the yards, it's a big area so we want people to think of what they can do in their own yard," said Janicki.

"We are always asking people to use earth- and lake-friendly yard pesticides and to use as little as possible," Janicki said. A lot of that stuff ends up in the lake when it rains. This promotes the growth of algae, which can be bad for the lake.

Another thing residents can do is start a compost pile in their yard.

Almost all types of waste can be used in a compost pile, leaves, grass clippings, fruit and vegetables, egg shells and even cardboard. After you start a compost pile you will have to wait about a year for it to be useful. Janicki encourages residents to then use this compost back in their gardens as fertilizers.

If you are looking to get your spring garden going, Janicki says to use Michigan native plants.

"These plants are already used to our climate and you will not need to use pesticides on them," she said. "They are also going to attract birds and other pollinators like bees and butterflies."

Other things you can do in your yard include reducing your lawn size by planting shrubs and other flowering plants. For more information on the Yardeners, visit their website at http://www.stclairshores.net/qlinks/yardeners.htm.

The St. Clair Shores Waterfront Environmental Committee has a lot of useful tips for keeping the lake clean on their website. One of the things residents can do is participate in the Storm Drain Stenciling Program. This is a community wide program where residents are asked to get a "No Dumping, Drains to Lake" stencil and put it on the drains in the area. Residents are also asked to pass out fliers to residents afterwards.

The committee also adopted the exit and entrance ramps at 9, 10 and 11 Mile Roads on I-94 as part of the Adopt-A-Highway program. Shorians can volunteer to help keep those areas clean. For more information on how to volunteer in the roadside clean up, call (586) 774-8181.