Bellport Village Environmental Committee chair Marc Rauch announced a new initiative at Monday night’s work session, “A Thousand Yards,” a campaign to be formally launched on Earth Day, April 27. “It’s to engage village residents to keep the bay clean,” he said. “The first prong has to do with lawn care—not using fertilizers or noxious pesticides and herbicides. There are some things we have some control over. Some homeowners in the village are doing that right now. You can see clover in their lawns.” Fertilizers infiltrate water runoff that winds up in the bay, causing algae blooms and killing fish, and pesticides and herbicides kill off beneficial insects birds eat and wind up in waterways, decimating life-giving underwater plants.
The second prong, he said, is “how do you create a habitat for these creatures?”
“That can be done by planting native oak trees. We’ve identified five different varieties of oaks in different sizes and shapes and can provide recommendations.”
Other suggestions include replacing lawns with grasses, perennials, and plants friendly to birds, butterflies, and bees with a nature area that could as little as a 2 feet by 2 feet.
A panel discussion will kick off on March 18 at the Community Center.