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Bay Friendly Yard Program

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Plant Bay Friendly!

Long Island invented the suburban lawn. It’s time to reinvent it. Let’s plant natives, let’s bring them back. They require no fertilizer or pesticides, no extra water. They are more beautiful, are less expensive to maintain, and they help restore habitat. They also help filter our groundwater before it reaches the bay and our water supply.

Certify Your Yard Bay Friendly

Do you practice sustainable gardening methods?

  • Habitat Restoration
  • Stormwater Management
  • Local Stewardship

Become a Certified Bay Friendly Yard and proudly display a yard sign.

Apply Now or email us info@savethegreatsouthbay.org for more info!

Apply Now!

Bay Friendly Guidelines:

Get A Free, Native Planting, E-Book To Help You Get Started!

  • Step-by-step instructions to assess your yard
  • Lists of LI native species
  • Tips on how to arrange these plantings

Bay Friendly Yard Webinars

Bay Friendly Yards: Ocean Beach

Director of Habitat Restoration Frank Piccininni addresses the Village of Ocean Beach Civic Association on how to create Bay Friendly Yards in the Fire Island community.

Bay Friendly Yards: Recycling Stormwater

Stormwater runoff accounts for a large percentage of nitrogen in our local waterways which in turn triggers harmful brown tides in the Great South Bay. Managing stormwater runoff is not only one of the three essential elements of a Bay Friendly Yard but crucial to protecting the Bay.

Bay Friendly Yards: Creating A Butterfly Garden

Butterflies are not only beautiful to observe but also serve an important role in our local ecosystem. Planting an area in your yard as a butterfly garden restores native habitat whilst creating a landing pad for butterflies and other essential pollinators!

Bay Friendly Yards: Nature and Mindfulness

The chirping of birds, the metamorphic wonder of butterflies – a nature encounter in your own yard. Learn about the mental health benefits of a Bay Friendly Yard and a healthy ecosystem presented by Kristen Perret, PhD on behalf of local environmental non-profit Save The Great South Bay. The

Bay Friendly Yards: Creating Wildlife Habitat

The typical suburban yard lacks the basic necessities of wildlife habitat. Learn how to bring your yard to life by creating a Bay Friendly Yard that is also a place for wildlife to call home, during our webinar on Saturday, May 15th at 10:00 AM via Zoom with Frank Piccininni, Director of Habitat

Bay Friendly Yards: Three Essential Elements

The typical suburban lawn relies heavily on fertilizers, pesticides, and huge amounts of water. It’s polluting, expensive, lifeless and tired. Bay Friendly Yards are beautiful, full of life, less expensive to maintain, and (bonus!) help filter groundwater before it hits a creek or the Bay.

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More About Bay Friendly Yards

Hunt for the American Chestnut Challenge

Hunt for the American Chestnut Challenge

Apr 20, 2020

For thousands of years after the last glacial period, the American Chestnut, Castanea Dentata, dominated the eastern Deciduous Forests of the eastern United States, making up 25% to 30% of the forest canopy of Long Island’s hardwood forests. Growing over 100 to 120 ft...

Sprouts with Historic Roots

Sprouts with Historic Roots

Apr 20, 2020

Humble beginnings with Nikolaos Nantsis, James Bertsch, Stephen Borghardt, Rob Vasiluth, Marshall Brown, et al. These tiny sprouts are those of Long Island wild type American Chestnut growing in pots in my back yard. Thank you to Niko for finding them! More on this...

Repel The Invaders And Help Save The Great South Bay

Jun 20, 2019

As those familiar with this organization knows, we are dedicated to habitat restoration, whether along our creeks via The Creek Defender Program, or on our properties via our Bay Friendly Yards Program, or through our efforts to restore habitat itself as we work with...

The 5K Run For The Bay: Pursuing Change

May 23, 2019

Blue Island Oysters of West Sayville on Saturday April 27th hosted the Third Annual 5K Run For The Bay, raising funds a $1500 scholarship at Sayville High School, for Operation Blue Earth, a foundation driving a local public awareness campaign that encourages people...

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