During the summer, maintained lawns often need to be mowed weekly. But when grass clippings are left in the street, rain can wash them into storm drains and eventually into the Indian River Lagoon.

As the clippings decompose, they contribute to muck buildup. Muck can fuel algal and phytoplankton blooms that block sunlight from reaching essential seagrasses and consume oxygen that fish need to survive.

The good news is that there's an easy way to help protect the lagoon—while saving time and money, too!

Blow Grass Clippings and Leaves Back into Your Lawn for Natural Fertilizer

The easiest way to prevent grass clippings from becoming pollution is to leave them on the lawn after mowing. Just blow any clippings that land on pavement back onto your lawn. Letting your grass clippings decompose on your lawn
is like getting free fertilizer, according to the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension (IFAS). Grass clippings are made of 90 percent water and decompose quickly. After grass clippings decompose, they provide nitrogen to the soil that’s equal to one to two fertilizer applications per year. You can reduce or even eliminate the need for traditional fertilizer, all while enjoying a healthier lawn.

Ask Your Lawn Care Company to Blow Grass Clippings Back into Your Lawn

If a lawn care company mows your yard, ask them to blow grass clippings back onto the lawn. This keeps clippings out of streets and storm drains, where they can wash into the Indian River Lagoon.

Leaving grass clippings in the street or blowing them into storm drains, gutters, ponds or waterways is illegal. City of Melbourne code prohibits pollutants, including grass clippings, from entering the stormwater system. Each local government has their own fines and enforcement provisions.

Collect and reuse clippings and leaves

Keeping grass clippings out of the street doesn’t have to be hard. A little planning goes a long way. Aim your mower's discharge chute away from the street and blow the clippings into a pile.

You can then collect the clippings and repurpose them in a number of ways:

• Make natural fertilizer: Steep clippings in water for about three days, then use the liquid to fertilize plants.
• Create compost: Compost grass clippings and yard waste to nourish your soil.
• Use as mulch: Add clippings to garden beds to help retain moisture and provide nutrients.

• Improve water quality. Mangrove roots trap sediment, nutrients, and pollutants before they reach estuaries, lagoons, and the ocean.
• Provide wildlife habitat. Mangrove forests are home to birds, fish, crabs, shrimp, oysters, and countless other species. Many juvenile fish spend the early part of their lives among the roots, making mangroves important nursery areas.
• Support Florida's economy. Healthy mangroves help sustain commercial and recreational fisheries, boating, ecotourism, and wildlife viewing.
• Store carbon. Mangroves are excellent at capturing and storing carbon in their wood and the soils beneath them, helping reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
• Reduce flooding. During storms and high tides, mangroves slow water movement and help lessen flooding in nearby coastal areas.
• Protect the Indian River Lagoon and other estuaries. In our own backyard, like the Indian River Lagoon, mangroves stabilize shorelines, filter runoff, and create habitat that supports the lagoon's rich biodiversity.

Can you trim or remove mangroves?

Mangroves are protected under Florida law. Trimming or removing them is regulated and permits or professional authorization may be required depending on the circumstances. According to FDEP regulations, you can trim mangrove branches when the tree is between 6 to 10 feet tall. Trimming of roots or trees smaller than 6 feet is never allowed. Between 10 to 16 feet, a professional mangrove trimmer is required, and anything above 24 feet requires a Florida Department of Environmental Services Permit. When in doubt, refer to the Florida DEP website for their trimming rules (https://floridadep.gov/.../mangrove-trimming-2-08-16.pdf). This helps ensure these critical habitats remain healthy for future generations.

If you live along the lagoon and would like to restore your shoreline or need to replace mangroves on your property, the Marine Resource Council's nursery has all three native mangrove species available for purchase.