Publications & Products

The intent of this guidebook is to provide landowners with information that can help reduce harmful impacts on watersheds while emphasizing natural lawn care.

This brochure offers tips on keeping our yards green and water clean.

This brochure is a part of a natural lawn care communication campaign developed and refined through a series of grant funded homeowner surveys and focus groups. The goal is to address the issue of lawn care-related pollution in watersheds by targeting outreach efforts directly towards homeowners engaged in lawn care. Survey data revealed that soil testing is a lawn care practice overlooked by homeowners. This brochure aims address the importance of soil testing as it relates to turfgrass health.

This brochure is a part of a natural lawn care communication campaign developed and refined through a series of grant funded homeowner surveys and focus groups. The goal is to address the issue of lawn care-related pollution in watersheds by targeting outreach efforts directly towards homeowners engaged in lawn care. Choosing the right turfgrass species for the lawn’s growing conditions is an important management practice. This brochure provides a brief introduction to turfgrass growth habits, a checklist for understanding your lawn’s growing conditions and provides a turfgrass selection guide.

This product is a guide to selecting low-input turfgrass in the northeastern Illinois region.

Learn about the pros and cons of using two different methods to establish a new lawn.

This brochure is a guide to the characteristics and benefits of selected Illinois plants to help home gardeners choose native plants appropriate for site-specific conditions.

This guide features a plant plan that creates year-round interest for people and extends the foraging season for pollinators.

This guide provides a suggested rain garden planting plan.

This brochure is a guide to the characteristics and benefits of selected Illinois spring ephemerals to help home gardeners choose plants appropriate for site-specific conditions.

This guide features a planting plan focused on natives typically found in Illinois woodlands. The plan creates year-round interest for homeowners and extends the foraging season for pollinators. Additionally, native plants help soak up rainfall and can be used in rain gardens.

This guide features a planting plan focused on natives typically found in Illinois woodland borders. The plan creates year-round interest for homeowners and extends the foraging season for pollinators. Additionally, native plants help soak up rainfall and can be used in rain gardens.

This guide features a planting plan focused on natives typically found in wet Illinois woodlands. The plan creates year-round interest for homeowners and extends the foraging season for pollinators. Additionally, native plants help soak up rainfall and can be used in rain gardens.

This guide features a planting plan focused on natives typically found in dry Illinois woodlands. The plan creates year-round interest for homeowners and extends the foraging season for pollinators. Additionally, native plants help soak up rainfall and can be used in rain gardens.

This brochure shows how to create a beautiful lawn and keep phosphorous, or “P” from polluting water by using P-free fertilizers

Lawn to Lake provides information on how to protect water quality through natural lawn care. This rack card is geared towards lawn care retailers, explaining the benefits of carrying phosphorus-free (P-free) fertilizer and natural lawn care products.

For a healthy lawn that doesn’t pollute local waters, it is important to avoid fertilizers that have phosphorus (P). This poster, which is made for lawn-care retailers, explains how to identify “P-free” fertilizers. It also provides six easy tips for having a healthy lawn.

This brochure is a part of a natural lawn care communication campaign developed and refined through a series of grant funded homeowner surveys and focus groups. The goal is to address the issue of lawn care-related pollution in watersheds by targeting outreach efforts directly towards homeowners engaged in lawn care. Managing lawn pests was identified as a main concern for homeowners.

Homeowner Conservation Practices to Protect Water Quality Thumbnail HOMEOWNER CONSERVATION PRACTICES TO PROTECT WATER QUALITY PUBLICATION NUMBER: IISG21-RCE-ERP-002 PAGES: 6 DESCRIPTION: Anyone who has a home with a yard can help protect and improve water quality. This publication offers practical advice about reducing impervious surfaces, select proper landscape plants, effective management of lawns, installing rain barrels and rain gardens, and proper care of septic systems.

This manual lays out the water resources in the NWPA region, reasons to conserve water outdoors, and recommended lawn watering restrictions.

This outreach brochure provides simple steps for homeowners to conserve on outdoor water use. Lawn watering and other outdoor water uses can account for 30 percent of Illinois home water usage throughout the summer, but only half of that water penetrates the soil, with the rest lost due to inefficient watering practices. Reducing outdoor water waste in Illinois saves money and protects our limited water resources, especially during times of drought. We can all take a few simple steps to use water more efficiently.