The staff and board of the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy get asked numerous questions about our region’s watersheds and water quality. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions and answers. WHAT IS A WATERSHED A watershed is an area of land where all surface water and ...
Here’s the thing. There are many fewer excuses now. Maybe you’re home. Maybe you’re kids are home. Maybe you’re working from home, on limited hours, or in quarantine. Even though the toilet paper may be in short supply, nature isn’t. And it is a glorious time to be outside. Yes, ...
“Re-wilding” is the trend toward diversifying traditional lawns by putting in native plants that flower and fruit, boosting wildlife populations. It returns more control of the home landscape to nature. But such conservation landscaping involves more than simply quitting pruning or letting properties go to seed. “More often than not, that would result in a yard dominated by European turf grasses and invasive species,” said Dan Jaffe, horticulturist and propagator for the Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary in Wales, Massachusetts. “With good planning and establishment of a ...
Late last fall, the Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, along with the Chautauqua Watershed Management Alliance, concluded work on CWC’s Ball Creek Preserve for a wide-ranging water quality improvement project. This project was primarily funded through the New York State Water Quality ...
Don’t prune your forsythia, lilac or mock orange yet. Anything you cut off now will result in that much less of a flower show this spring. Except for these and many other spring-flowering shrubs, however, March is a fine time for pruning many trees and shrubs. It’s easy to see what to cut on leafless plants, and cuts heal quickly. So here’s a list of some pruning jobs to take on now. GET YOUR TOOLS READY Before you start, sharpen your pruning tools. Plants heal most quickly from the clean cuts that result from sharp tools. Get out a whetstone or file to touch up blades on ...
Winter is a monster with icy claws, wrapping itself around the roof of the earth for months at a time. Winter’s icy breath chills the bones and chases animals and retirees to the south to escape. Trees drop their leaves in fear and hunker down. Animals fall asleep or grow thick fur as ...
