Flywheel Spoke 4- Evaluation & Improvement

Evaluation and improvement steps of board, staff and community engagement, proper recordkeeping and annual evaluations keeps the Flywheel rotating. The Lawn & Land Forum working group has invited a couple of presenters to discuss their evaluation and improvement practices. In the future, the Forum will organize these speakers and case studies into a list of best practices for evaluation and improvement. This work is funded by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources Coastal Management Program.

Board, Staff and Community Engagement Case Study

Lynn Short, Instructor, Humber College

Before Lynn Short began Phragmites removal at Wymbolwood Beach on Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada, many community members found this restoration work too time consuming and hopeless. Short changed these perceptions with education and successful results, “Once some of the natural ecosystems were restored and the residents began to see the frogs and the wildflowers and the butterflies, then they remembered what it used to be like.”

Short’s removal projects “think like a plant” by using the spading method that eliminates the parts of the Phragmites plant that perform photosynthesis. Individuals can effectively control Phragmites by pushing a sharpened spade with his or her legs near the base of the plant at a 45-degree angle to cut the stalk below the surface to selectively remove the individual stalks.

Intensive spading from Short and volunteers sufficiently controlled and removed Phragmites at Wymbolwood Beach after five years. “Many hands make light work. Community involvement is very important,” said Short about her help. High school students comprised many of the volunteers, because these students needed to complete 40 hours of community service to graduate.

The most effective Phragmites removal occurs in late-July to early August just before the plant flowers. Additional control in the fall around September to October should better prevent reestablishment. Remove Phragmites’ flowers before they go to seed if the plant has already flowered.

Short and the volunteers have successfully managed Phragmites populations at Wymbolwood and other Georgian Bay shores for the last 10 years. Short explained, “It really takes persistent removal for several years, but it is rewarding”.

View Short's full presentation at bit.ly/PhragmitesAlternatives

Photo Gallery

Spades sharpened at the bottom used by Short to control for Phragmites.

Diagram made by Short of the Phragmites plant and the parts of the plant to remove with a spade.

Phragmites average density results from implementing the spading method between June 2016 and October 2019.

Volunteers spading Phragmites on the Georgian Bay Shore.

Example of a successful Phragmites control project after five years of management.

Annual Evaluations Case Study

Green Shield Certified for Landscapes

The IPM Institute and Midwest Grows Green regularly evaluate the practices of park districts, schools, municipalities and companies to help improve their sustainable landscaping programs. In 2022, the IPM Institute’s Green Shield Certified (GSC) program released their Guide & Evaluation for Landscapes that GSC clients must pass every three years.

“The GSC evaluator visits the client headquarters, interviews the landscape manager or company owner about their sustainability and business practices, shadows a client visit and looks at equipment, storage, handling and application of products,” described Ryan Anderson, IPM Institute’s Community IPM Manager.

The evaluator compiles all this information into an interim report that benchmarks the client’s policies and practices against the GSC for Landscapes Guide & Evaluation’s minimum requirements and scored practices. GSC applicants must meet all minimum requirements and score 80% or above on the scored practices to receive recognition. The requirements and practices relate to managing legal, environmental or human health risks, increasing transparency, improving business and operational efficiency and more. The evaluations always provide clients with recommendations for how to improve their landscaping service or landscape.

“We want our GSC for Landscapes clients to go above and beyond our standards,” Anderson explained. “Hence our slogan, The Sustainable Standard for Premium Protection.”

Many of the recommendations follow LawnandLand.org values, concepts and practices to limiting pesticide applications on recreational turfgrass fields and natural areas.