Chesapeake Bay and local gardens

➢ Bayscaping: Benefits of landscaping with native plants to beautify your property and reduce stormwater runoff
This highly informative and interesting presentation starts off with a brief overview of the benefits of alter-NATIVE landscaping on your property for both aesthetics and polluted runoff reduction. The majority of the presentation is a description of about 3 dozen trees, shrubs, wildflowers, grasses and vines all native to Virginia that you can use to landscape your property with. Whether you want to attract pollinating insects (butterflies), birds (hummingbirds) or simply have a beautiful native landscape, it’s all here. I add many interesting tidbits of information on many of the species (edible, medicinal, historic uses, etc.) from my 20 years of natural resource management.

There are excellent resources at http://stormwater.allianceforthebay.org/take-action/structural-bmps/conservation-landscaping/

Bio for Robert C. Jennings:

o B.S. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Pennsylvania State University
o 1994:​Research Assistant at Assateague Island National Seashore, doing immunocontraceptive research on the feral horses
o 1995-6: ​Wildlife Program Specialist for Morris County Park Commission (MCPC)
o 1996-2000:​ Natural Resource Program Specialist for MCPC
o Ran first ever immunocontraception program on deer in NJ
o Diversified into managing flora as well as fauna
o Successfully created expanded deer hunts, reduced density from 62/sq. mi. to 12/sq. mi., allowing for extensive native vegetation restoration efforts
o 2000-2005:​ Superintendent of Environmental Education for MCPC
o Ran 3 EE Centers reaching out to over 12K children/year
o 2005-2007:​ Superintendent of Natural Resources Management for MCPC
o 2007-2010:​​Biological Science Technician for Mid-Atlantic Exotic Plant Management Team (MA-EPMT)
o based out of Shenandoah National Park, Luray, VA
o responsible for overseeing invasive exotic plant inventorying and control on over 300,000 acres in 20 National Parks in PA, MD, VA & WV
o 2012 – Present: ​Grassroots Field Specialist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Blue Ridge, Piedmont and Valley Region of Virginia
o Advocate for clean water quality
o Main purpose is to get folks to speak up for the waterways to ensure clean water quality is left as a legacy in the Bay watershed

o Personal info:
o Former President and founder of the Northern Chapter of Native Plant Society of NJ (NPSNJ)
o Former VP of NPSNJ statewide chapter
o Board member Mid-Atlantic Exotic Pest Plant Control (MA-EPPC) 2006-7
o Current Board Member of Central Virginia Land Conservancy, 10/13-present

Resources:

BayScapes at https://allianceforthebay.org/outreach-training/toolkits-guidebooks/
BayScaping to Conserve Water – A Homeowner’s Guide PDF (205.8 kb) – In some households as much as 40 percent of the water used each month finds its way into the landscape, so future fresh water supplies depend upon wise outdoor water use. (Tool)

BayScapes for Wildlife Habitat – A Homeowner’s Guide PDF (171.5 kb) – Forests and open spaces are rapidly giving way to development, to accommodate a growing number of people in the Bay watershed. Whether converted to businesses, shopping malls or houses, the results remain the same: natural habitat is destroyed and species diversity is lost. (Tool)

Using Beneficial Plants – A Homeowner’s Guide PDF (70.8 kb) – Beneficial plants are plants that require minimal maintenance-such as trimming, watering and fertilizer or pesticide applications-because they are well adapted to local climate and soil types. (Tool)

BayScaping for the Long Term – A Homeowner’s Guide PDF (185.5 kb) – Most of us don’t realize how daily landscape maintenance decisions affect the surrounding environment. The impacts of landscape decisions reach far beyond individual property lines, however. (Tool)

Beneficial Plants – for BayScaping in the Chesapeake Bay Region PDF (219.0 kb) – BayScapes are environmentally sound landscapes benefiting people, wildlife, the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Use this Beneficial Plants list in conjunction with the BayScapes Homeowners Guides. (Tool)

Conservation Landscaping – A BayScapes Homeowner’s Guide PDF (187.3 kb) – Conservation landscaping promotes landscaping management that works with nature to reduce pollution and enhance wildlife habitat. (Tool)

Creating Landscape Diversity – A Homeowner’s Guide PDF (172.6 kb) – We generally consider the forests, fields, farms and wetlands when describing this watershed, but rarely do we think to include the urban and metropolitan areas falling within its boundaries. (Tool)

A Homeowner’s Guide to Designing Your Property PDF (1.1 MB) – This guide is designed to help you implement the concepts of BayScaping in your own yard.

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