Bee Good To Your Lawn: A Free Class On Improving Your Yard

MAMARONECK, NY — When it comes to "keeping up with the Joneses" have an enviable lawn doesn't mean using harsh chemicals or genetically designer plant lines.

The Town of Mamaroneck Sustainability Collaborative and the Center for Continuing Education are joining forces to show the community how to have a vibrant yard that is as easy on the environment as it on the eyes.

"A Busy Person's Guide to a Lush Lawn and a Beautiful Healthy Yard" will introduce easy approaches that can be used by professional landscapers, lawn care services and homeowners who tend to their own gardens. The goal will be to teach the community how simple it is to have a vibrant yard that is also safe for people, pets and the environment.

The class will be led by Perri McKinney, a local landscape designer and avid gardener trained at the New York Botanical Gardens. She will walk you through a step-by-step program she utilizes for her own yard as well as lessons learned in nearly a decade of managing the gardens at Murray Avenue School in Larchmont.

"We appreciate partnering with the Center for Continuing Education to help residents learn about simple steps they can take to increase the resilience of their land, safeguard their health, and protect our ecosystem," Mamaroneck Town Supervisor Jaine Elkind Eney said, announcing the new learning opportunity.

Traditional lawn and garden care approaches too often involve harmful chemical pesticides and herbicides that have scientifically been shown to be linked to human and animal cancers, hormonal imbalances, neurological impairments. These toxins can remain active in the landscape for long periods of time, seeping into groundwater impacting bodies of water and can easily be tracked into homes, thus causing ongoing exposure to residents.

A "healthy yards approach" to lawn and garden care relies on resilient native plants instead of chemical pesticides and herbicides. The right plants that thrive in local conditions are better able to defend themselves against indigenous insects and diseases. It can end up costing less than "chemical" landscaping and is safer for people, pets and the environment.

The class will present guidelines for:

• Choosing plants that thrive in your area and return yearly
• Attracting pollinators, birds, and beneficial insects that add appeal and naturally reduce garden pests
• Decreasing water use and encouraging robust plant growth
• Incorporating trees that are essential for healthy lawns and add value to your landscape

The free class will be held via Zoom on March 28, at 7 p.m.

"Our Community Classes are designed to make it convenient for many residents to learn about important topics, such as living more sustainably," Director of the Center for Continuing Education Martha Sundin explained.

You can register for this Community Class here.

The Sustainability Collaborative is a volunteer committee that advises the town on environmental issues. For more information about this committee, and sustainable yard care, visit their website.

The Center for Continuing Education is a non-for-profit organization with roots dating back over 80 years in the community. It offers offers a broad range of courses designed to cultivate learning and enrich the lives of Larchmont-Mamaroneck community members. The center's mission is to provide the community with quality life-long learning opportunities at affordable prices. More information can be found on their website. Free community classes at the Center for Continuing Education are sponsored by Houlihan Lawrence.