BROOKINGS, S.D. – Lawn and garden enthusiasts are invited to attend Backyard Natural Resources, a new four-part webinar series from South Dakota State University Extension.
The lunch-and-learn style webinar will provide the latest information and research on each week’s featured topic while also highlighting habitat work and resources available to South Dakotans, like the SDSU Native Plant Initiative. There will also be time for attendees to ask questions about their own gardens and yards.
Backyard Natural Resources is via Zoom from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. MT / 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. CDT on May 14, 16, 21 and 23, 2024. It is free to attend. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. To register, visit extension.sdstate.edu/events and search “backyard”.
The series is geared toward gardeners, lawn caretakers and anyone who wants to add more natural area to their property, whether they are just beginning or looking to build on existing practices.
Event topics and speakers are:
- May 14: Soil health in your garden, Anthony Bly, SDSU Extension Soils Health Field Specialist
- May 16: Water, John McMaine, Griffith Endowed Assistant Professor and SDSU Extension Water Management Engineer
- May 21: Grasslands, Laura Kahler, South Dakota Grasslands Initiative director
- May 23: Biodiversity, Amanda Bachmann, SDSU Extension Pesticide Education and Urban Entomology Field Specialist, and Robin Buterbaugh, SDSU Extension Horticulture Field Specialist
“For folks who are looking to improve some of their gardening techniques, use more of the water that’s falling on your land, or for ways to improve your soil, those are things that are really bedrock to having a good garden or flowerbed,” Bachmann said.
She said hearing from experts in multiple disciplines will help provide a holistic perspective to backyard management.
Bachmann and Buterbaugh’s presentation on biodiversity, for example, will delve into how plant choices can affect an area. Different plants attract different wildlife or insects. And while many people view insects as a problem to be removed, Bachmann said it’s not that simple. Birds rely on insects as part of their diet, making insects “a gateway to birding,” among other things.
“They’re a key part of the ecosystem,” Bachmann said. “You’re not going to have the stuff above on the food chain if you don’t allow insects to exist.”
For more information, contact Amanda Bachmann, SDSU Extension Pesticide Education and Urban Entomology Field Specialist, at 605-773-8120 or [email protected]; or Robin Buterbaugh, SDSU Extension Horticulture Field Specialist, at 605-782-3290 or [email protected].
— SDSU Extension
