The Westport River Watershed Alliance is hosting a “Low Impact Landscaping Workshop” for local homeowners on October 15, from 10AM to Noon, at the Westport, MA Public Library at 408 Old County Road. The workshop will teach participants ways to beautify their property while protecting the water quality of our ponds, streams and the Westport River. This will be a free workshop to teach homeowners how to apply “low impact development”(LID) stormwater management practices to their property by using attractive native plants and promoting healthy soil that water will seep into. Bob Hartzel of Geosyntec Consultants in Boston is leading the workshop. Bob will provide an overview of LID concepts and step-by step guides to building rain gardens, “bioretention cells”, porous pavers, rain barrels, and other LID landscaping techniques that use native shrubs, annuals and perennial flowers.
Bob Hartzel is a Certified Lake Manager (CLM) and wetland scientist with over 18 years experience managing lake, river and wetland restoration projects. Bob served as Massachusetts Lakes & Ponds Program Coordinator from 1992-1998. As a consultant since 1998, Bob has conducted numerous watershed planning projects, lake diagnostic studies and ecological investigations. Bob is also a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control and led a variety of recent projects implementing Low Impact Development (LID) storm water techniques in New England watersheds.
This program is supported by the Westport Cultural Council through a grant from Helen E. Ellis Charitable Trust administered by Bank of America.
