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Smart Yard
Care –
New Handbook for Homeowners
Smart Yard Care – Big Rewards from Small Investments in Stewardship, is a new
book that takes a holistic look at landscaping and home life to promote Firewise
practices. The book by Francis J. Reilly, Jr. offers some environmentally
friendly alternatives to burning leaves and other yard waste including ways to
avoid generating the waste in the first place. Debris burning is a major cause
of unwanted wildfires.
Thoughtful homeowners, especially those in Mid-Atlantic States,
will find good information to help reduce, reuse or recycle yard waste to help
reduce the fuel load from home landscapes. Fewer burning debris piles may help
decrease unwanted wildfire starts. The handbook also provides useful tips on
dealing with invasive species and living with wildlife, as well as protecting
human homes and landscapes from wildfire.
 This project is
the culmination of an idea first brought to the Virginia Cooperative Extension
of Virginia Tech by Barb Stewart of the National Park Service. She, Stephanie
Bushong of the USDA Forest Service and Cindy Frenzel, then with the Virginia
Department of Forestry, were looking for environmentally sensitive ways to help
people protect their homes from wildland fire. David D. Close, Virginia State
Master Gardener Coordinator, was project director. National Fire Plan funds
supported the project through an agreement with the National Park Service
Southern Appalachian Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit.
A chapter from the book dealing with Fire Safety at the Wildland/Urban
Interface is available here.
Two stories relate earlier stages of the project:
http://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/success/documents/06_VA_NPS-nero-handbook-ca.pdf
http://www.forestsandrangelands.gov/success/stories/2008/nfp_2008_va_nps_nerg_commasst.shtml
To purchase copies of Smart Yard Care, go to:
http://www.hort.vt.edu/mastergardener/smartyardstorefront.html
 
InIterested in
acquiring this book? Here’s how:
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Cost -- $19.95 + shipping & handling
http://www.hort.vt.edu/mastergardener/smartyardstorefront.html
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Special pricing can be arranged for orders of 100 or more and they can be
shipped directly to you from the printer
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For more information about how to make a bulk order please contact
Dave Close,
State Master Gardener Coordinator
Virginia Tech
Department of
Horticulture
407 Saunders
(0327)
Blacksburg, VA
24061
540-231-2714
dclose@vt.edu
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