Adopt-A-Pond Notebook
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Adopt-A-Pond Notebook Read it. Use it. Share it! Because healthy ponds don’t just happen. Revised November, 2018 Table of Contents Introduction Program & Group Goals Management Guidelines Maintenance Calendar Pond Inspection Checklist Section 1 Visible Pollution Control Section 2 Wildlife Habitat Section 3 Native/FL Yards & Neighborhoods Landscapes and Techniques Section 4 Pond Vegetation Coverage Section 5 Nuisance Vegetation Section 6 Duckweed Control Section 7 Algae Control Section 8 Storm Drains Marked The Adopt-A-Pond Notebook: Use it to learn more about your pond environment. Introduction This notebook is designed to help your pond group maintain your pond as a healthy, functioning ecosystem and stormwater facility. Have a pond question? Look in your notebook for the answer! Also, ask your Adopt-A-Pond Coordinator for further assistance. Start by reviewing the first few pages of this notebook. Establish goals for the pond group, familiarize yourself with the Adopt-A-Pond Management Guidelines, and use the Maintenance Calendar to help direct your efforts based on the season. Also, see a hypothetical timeline for the three-year program. Your Adopt-A-Pond Coordinator will complete the Pond Inspection Checklist at your first pond walk. The score on the checklist will be a benchmark for your work. Use this notebook to help your group develop ideas for improving your score over the next three years. The notebook is divided into sections based on the Pond Inspection Checklist. The Adopt-A-Pond Notebook: Use it to learn more about your pond environment. Adopt-A-Pond Program Goals • Stormwater Pollution Prevention • Cleaner Water • Beautiful Ponds • Increased Wildlife Habitat • Fewer Nuisance Plants Adopt-A-Pond Group Goals List the things your group wants to accomplish through the Adopt-A-Pond program: • ________________________________ • ________________________________ • ________________________________ • ________________________________ • ________________________________ Adopt-A-Pond Group Activities • Complete Pond Inspection Checklist • Neighborhood Education Meeting • Develop Pond Management Plan • Storm Drain Marking • Pond Planting • Pond Maintenance Work Days & Reports The Adopt-A-Pond Notebook: Use it to learn more about your pond environment. Adopt-A-Pond Management Guidelines It is important to remember that your pond is a stormwater pond, designed to collect runoff from streets, yards, and gutters. That fact must affect what you expect your pond to be. Also, it affects who you'll invite to be part of your “pond group”. All together your neighborhood contributes pollution to your stormwater pond, and all together you can improve the water quality and beauty of it. You pond is also a product of geology. This will affect what grows in your pond. If it was dug next to a wetland it's probably sitting in rich soils, and might grow algae and duck weed. If it was dug in a pine area, it probably has sandy, nutrient-poor soils, and cypress trees may have trouble. Your goal is to manage your pond environment so that nuisance plants don't dominate, a healthy balance of plant diversity is achieved, and water quality is improved. You probably will not “eliminate” nuisance plants, duck weed, or algae from your pond. Although there are many plants that can become a nuisance in ponds, your pond probably has only 2 or 3 that you have to worry about. Concentrate on keeping those under control, especially during the summer months. When it comes to plants growing in your pond, "If you don't know what it is, don't pull it out!" We have many native plants that will naturally occur in healthy pond systems, so get it identified before you pull it out. Please remember that Adopt-A-Pond is a pollution prevention program first and foremost. Therefore, use herbicides, fertilizers and other chemicals strategically and sparingly. With proper management you can leave behind use of chemicals after the first year. The first year of your new pond maintenance program requires the most work and has the most problems, so plan to make monthly inspections and organize work days at least on a quarterly basis. Pulling up, cutting, and raking out nuisance plants will be easier in the winter and spring when water levels are low and the weather is pleasant for a day at the pond, so plan those activities accordingly. The Adopt-A-Pond Notebook: Use it to learn more about your pond environment. Adopt-A-Pond Maintenance Calendar Spring (March – May) Review winter damage. Clean up old leaves and growth from last year. Uncover and make way for the new spring growth. This is a good time to transplant from established clumps of old aquatics to start new planting areas. Everyone will think about fertilizing! So, spread the word… SLOW IS BEST! Be sure to keep fertilizer free zones around the pond and storm drains. Brush up on plant identification so that you and your group don’t pull up good plants as they emerge from winter’s rest. Plan at least one work day per season. Summer (June - August) Pond weeds can easily get out of hand during the summer months, so don’t turn your back on your pond this summer! Your pond is especially vulnerable if you are in the first two years of adopting your pond. You may have to schedule several short work days because of the heat. DON’T risk heat stroke or sunburn trying to do it all in one day. Concentrate on the “high-profile” weeds like cattails, torpedo grass and primrose willow. Fall (September – November) It’s starting to cool off, so tackle the last few patches of trouble before the holidays take over your life. If you just planted in the last 6 to 8 months, make sure you are able to identify all of the new aquatics you planted. Don’t mistake them for weeds! They’ll be laying in roots to grow like crazy in the spring. Take this time to schedule a pond walk. Show off all of your group’s hard work. Winter (December – February) You don’t have to worry too much about new weedy growth (unless you did not maintain your pond during the summer and fall months). Now is a good time to “fine tune” your pond plantings. Prune trees and shrubs, plan new planting areas, plan new recreation areas, and install bird houses and feeders. Talk to your neighbors and your homeowner association about stormwater pollution prevention. Remember to send in your workday reports each season! The Adopt-A-Pond Notebook: Use it to learn more about your pond environment. Adopt-A-Pond Program Year 1 Complete training and mark storm drains Pond group Program coordinator Initial inspection Prepare and finalize Pond Order plants Recommendation Report Pond walk SWFWMD and EPC and provide approval storm drain markers Adopt-A-Pond Program Year 2 Pond group Program coordinator Review Order Review 1- Order 6-month plants if year report plants report needed 1-year 6-month inspection inspection Adopt-A-Pond Program Year 3 Pond group Program coordinator Review Review 2- Order 1.5-year year report plants report 2-year inspection Adopt-A-Pond Program Year 4 You can take it from here! Pond group Program coordinator Review Adopt-A-Pond final Program ends report Optional final pond walk Pond Inspection Checklist Date:__________ Pond ID/Group Name:___________________________ For each category, circle the most appropriate response for your pond at this moment. Point Values: 0 1 2 3 4 Visible Pollution: (e.g. trash, pet waste, lawn Poor Fair Good Excellent Exemplary clippings, etc.) Wildlife Habitat: (e.g. habitat boxes, wildlife Poor Fair Good Excellent Exemplary corridors, natural spaces, etc.) Native/Florida Yards & Neighborhoods Landscapes and Poor Fair Good Excellent Exemplary Techniques used around the pond and neighborhood: Pond Surface with Vegetation: <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% >70% Pond Surface with Nuisance Vegetation: >70% 50-70% 30-50% 10-30% <10% (includes algae, duckweed, water hyacinth etc.) Shoreline with Vegetation: <10% 10-30% 30-50% 50-70% >70% (other than maintained sod) Shoreline with Nuisance >70% 50-70% 30-50% 10-30% <10% Vegetation: Clarity: (Suspended algae and sediment Poor Fair Good Excellent Exemplary can cause water to look murky green or brown) If Present, Storm Drains Marked with None Few Some Most All Adopt-A-Pond “No Trash in Drains” Tags: Total Score: _______/ 36 points possible (32 points possible if no storm drains) Section 1 Visible Pollution Control Visible pollution is anything harmful to the waterbody that can physically be seen. This includes any trash, pet waste, lawn clippings in the water or on the pavement, etc. This section includes articles about sources of water pollution and ways each person can prevent water pollution. Featured Articles: Protect Florida’s Water – Stop Non-point Source Pollution! Trash Catcher Muscovy Ducks - Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em? Put Pet Waste in the Trash! The Adopt-A-Pond Notebook: Use it to learn more about your pond environment. Protect Florida’s Water Stop Non-Point Source Pollution! What is Non-Point Source Pollution? Non-point source pollution is pollution that can’t be traced back to a particular point or pipe. It comes from many diffuse sources. It travels over land with rain or irrigation runoff. It’s then carried to ponds, lakes, rivers, and eventually Tampa Bay. Effects of Non-Point Source Pollution on a Waterbody: Examples of Non-Point Source 9 Nutrients from fertilizers, pet wastes, yard clippings, Pollution: leaves, and septic systems can cause algae blooms 9 Fertilizers, pesticides, and weed killers and excessive growth of aquatic weeds. 9 Yard clippings and leaves 9 Oil and grease from vehicles and 9 Oil and grease from vehicles pesticides can kill aquatic organisms and 9 Sand and dirt from erosion contaminate ground water.