Project Overview

Reports

Commodities

• Additional Plants: native plants, ornamentals, other

• Agronomic: grass (misc. annual), grass (misc. perennial), grass (turfgrass, sod)

• Animals: bees

• Community and Urban Pest Management: commercial, hospitals/healthcare, institution/shelters/municipal buildings/public places, other, public health, residential/housing, school & child care

• Ecosystem: Ecosystem

• Human Health: other, workers, residents, applicators

• Natural Areas: forestry (conifer), forestry (hardwood), other, wildlife

• Pollinators: habitat, honey bees, other

Target Pests

Practices

• Pest Management: behavioral control, biological control, biorational pesticides, botanical pesticides, competition, cultivation, cultural control, decision support system, habitat modification, mating disruption, mechanical control, monitoring/scouting, mulches - general, mulches - killed, mulches - living, mulching - plastic, mulching - vegetative, other, pesticide resistance management, precision pesticide use, prevention, soil solarization, temperature treatment, weather monitoring, weed ecology

• Crop Production: application rate management, drainage systems, drought tolerance, fertigation, fertilizers, forest/woodlot management, nutrient management, organic fertilizers, pollination/pollinator health/habitat, water management, water storage

• Natural Resources/Environment: biodiversity, drift/runoff buffers, other, soil stabilization, wetlands, wildlife

• Production Systems: transitioning to organic

• Soil Management: composting, earthworms, green manures, organic matter, other, soil microbiology, soil quality/health

• Sustainable Communities: other, public participation, public policy, quality of life, sustainability measures

The 501(c)3 non-profit IPM Institute of North America, Inc. respectfully requests $20,000 from the North Central IPM Center to meet the rising demand for sustainable landscaping in the North Central region.  

The Midwest Grows Green (MGG) Lawn & Land Forum Working Group will meet sustainable landscaping demand by pursuing three objectives in 2023-2024: (1) improve identification of IPM/sustainable landscapes and landscaping services in the North Central region and nationally, (2) organize workshops and develop resources that equip landscape managers with the knowledge base to adopt and implement sustainable landscaping practices, policies and strategies and (3) increase sustainable landscaping adoption and implementation in the North Central Region.

For the first objective, the WG will organize quarterly meetings to review, revise and promote Green Shield Certified (GSC) for Landscapes that recognizes and supports landscapes and landscape service providers that reduce chemical use, satisfy community needs and remain economically feasible (see bit.ly/GSClandscapes). The IPM Institute will disseminate GSC for Landscapes standards to organizations and stakeholders outside the WG membership for review and endorsement.  Throughout 2023-2024, these GSC standards will achieve recognition as the premium sustainable landscaping standard across the US by receiving sufficient endorsements and new applicants. 

The WG’s second objective will organize and host two one-hour webinars and one in-person workshop to equip landscape managers with the knowledge base to adopt and implement sustainable landscaping practices, policies and strategies. The webinars will focus on the NCIPM’s Stakeholder Priority of “Rapidly identifying and managing invasive re-emerging, or resistant insect pests, pathogens and weeds to minimize their impacts”. They will cover how to effectively manage emerging insect pests in landscaping such as grubs, Asian jumping worms, emerald ash borer or chinch bugs with limited synthetic pesticides. The WG will post the webinar recordings and lessons learned on LawnandLand.org’s Pest & Weed Control page (see bit.ly/MGGcontrol) and create one or two NCIPM Pest Alert fact sheets for the pests covered.    

In the fall of 2023, the Forum will host its in-person workshop in Milwaukee, WI that will provide IPM and sustainable landscaping training for both sports and recreational turfgrass field managers and natural resource management, native plant and landscape design professionals.

Finally, the WG will increase sustainable landscaping adoption and implementation by sharing action-oriented components of the MGG Lawn & Land Forum. These action-oriented components include (1) holding a minimum of 10 in-person or phone meetings with park districts, school districts and/or city governments regarding sustainable landscaping implementation, (2) assisting 10 or more greenspaces in the North Central region transition away from synthetic pesticide and fertilizer use through MGG’s Technical Assistance Program (TAP, see bit.ly/MGGassistance) and (3) leveraging this project’s successes to grow LawnandLand.org, GSC for Landscapes, TAP and related MGG programs.

This effort will help all North Central residents and communities easily find, implement and pursue landscaping services and projects that have limited impact on human health and the environment. Overall, this project will increase safe and healthy greenspaces for children, pets and pollinators to live, learn and play. 

Objective 1:The Lawn & Land Forum working group will improve identification of sustainable landscapes and landscaping services in the North Central region and nationally.

Objective 2:The Lawn & Land Forum working group will organize workshops and develop resources that equip landscape managers with the knowledge base to adopt and implement sustainable landscaping practices, policies and strategies.

Objective 3:The Lawn & Land Forum WG and MGG will increase sustainable landscaping adoption and implementation in the North Central Region.