Kenosha County Extension of UW-Madison

2025 Horticulture Programs

• Lawn & Garden Classes:  https://kenosha.extension.wisc.edu/lawn-garden-classes/
• Spring into Gardening Conference: https://kenosha.extension.wisc.edu/horticulture/spring-into-gardening/
• Arbor Day Celebration: https://kenosha.extension.wisc.edu/horticulture/arbor-day-celebration/
• Landscape & Grounds Maintenance Short Course Program: https://kenosha.extension.wisc.edu/green-industry-programs/

When rain falls and snow melts, it flows over rooftops and across streets, parking lots and lawns. On its journey, it picks up ground debris and pollutants and moves everything quickly to water bodies without treatment. This process is called stormwater runoff pollution, and it contributes to the degradation of freshwater resources and habitats. Algae and sediment-lled waters negatively impact aesthetics and recreation opportunities like swimming, fishing and boating, and can make fish harmful to consume. Poor water quality can also reduce income generated from recreation and tourism activities such as fishing licenses and patronage at local businesses. Please view and follow the tips shared here to help keep local waterbodies clean and healthy.

Native Plants: Native plants are species that naturally dwell in a specic area without human intervention. Compared to lawn and horticultural plants, Wisconsin native plants have long and strong root systems that aid in stormwater inltration and pollutant processing. Native plants have evolved for centuries in southeastern Wisconsin making them resilient in the local climate and soil types, eliminating the need for costly soil amendments, fertilizers and pesticides. Native plants are also critical to native pollinator survival, as they provide the appropriate sources of nutrition at the right times of the year for native pollinators, who are crucial for human food crop pollination. Learn more about going native and where to purchase your plants at www.rootpikewin.org/gonative.