Lawns are a common landscape around Skaneateles Lake.

While lawns can be enjoyable for recreation, they lack biodiversity and often require a lot of maintenance.

Fertilizers applied to lawns can impact water quality by causing excess phosphorus to enter Skaneateles Lake, contributing to harmful algae blooms (HABs) and aquatic plant growth. Best management practices or transitioning to a native lawn can reduce the negative impact of lawns on water quality.

On April 18, Cornell Cooperative Extension Onondaga County and partners will present “Lawns and Landscapes for Protecting the Lake,” the first in a series of programs to educate about different landscape types and practices that are beneficial for water quality.

This program, which is supported by the City of Syracuse, will focus on lawns and best management practices for protecting Skaneateles Lake.

Frank Rossi from Cornell University will talk about how lawn-owners can implement lawncare practices that protect water quality.

For the more adventurous, Krissy Boys from Cornell Botanic Gardens will share about their native lawn project to inspire property owners to transition from a traditional lawn to a native lawn. There will be plenty of time for questions and answers and discussion at the end.

Instead of a lawn, there are several other landscape types that can be beneficial to transition your lawn to or to incorporate in some way on your property.

This program is part of a collaborative series that will focus on several types of landscaping practices that help protect Skaneateles Lake – including meadows, rain gardens, and more.

Through this series, property owners will hopefully find one or more ways to landscape and manage their properties to protect water quality. Stay tuned for additional programs to be announced soon!

This program and series are a collaboration between Cornell Cooperative Extension Onondaga County (with support from the City of Syracuse), Go Native! perennials, and the Skaneateles Lake Association.

If you go

Lawns and Landscapes for Protecting the Lake, Thursday, April 18 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

Speakers: Frank Rossi, Associate Professor, School of Integrative Plant Science Horticulture Section and Krissy Boys, Natural Areas Horticulturist, Cornell Botanic Gardens

For more information and to register, visit: skanlakeinfo.org/events/lawns.

For more information contact Camille Marcotte, Water and Ecology Educator at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Onondaga County, at [email protected] or 315-424-9485 ext.232.