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Here are some tips to help make those plans more environmentally friendly! Keep your lawn areas thick and healthy and don’t cut too close to the ground. Mulch your flower beds to hold that water. You can install grass alternatives like ground cover, plants, shrubs, trees and perennials to decrease stormwater runoff and pollutants, like fertilizer and herbicides, especially in areas with highly erodible soils and steep slopes. If you must fertilize, use slow release fertilizers or better yet, till some compost into your lawn. Looking for guidance on plants? We have informational sheets from the Audubon Society of Western Pennsylvania that could help. There are sheets on Establishing a Native Meadow; Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden and Deer Resistant Plants in the lobby of the municipal building. Remember, never fertilize before a rainstorm as the stormwater will carry those pollutants into our storm drains and then into our waterways!