Join the Izaak Walton League for two live webcasts this spring that will help you conserve wetlands and provide a home for wildlife while creating beautiful landscaping for your home, office or schoolyard.

Wetland-Friendly Backyard (March 28, 8:00-10:00 pm) includes information on how to create rain gardens, install rain barrels, landscape with native plants, and reduce pesticide and fertilizer use. What you plant in your garden and how you take care of your lawn can affect water quality in your neighborhood.

In this webcast series, the concept of backyard conservation will be introduced, as well as some of the basic things people are doing to make their yards more eco-friendly. The experiences of actual homeowners that have successfully implemented these practices in their own yards are shown.

Wet Spots into Wonderlands (April 25, 8:00-10:00 pm) will help you learn the benefits of having wetlands on your property, how to protect those wetlands, and how to create vernal pools or bog gardens.

Do you have a wetland on your property? Discover the many benefits (both environmental and economic) of "greening" your property, and find out how you can ensure that these sensitive ecosystems remain healthy. No wetlands on your property?

Learn how to create vernal pools and backyard bogs that are guaranteed to attract wildlife and reduce storm-water runoff. Using low-cost materials and simple techniques, this program will demonstrate how you can transform your backyard landscape into a "greenscape."

In addition to the live programs, there will be various resources available on the League's website to help you get started with these projects.

The webcasts will be available live on the Internet nationwide through streaming video. Participants will be able to interact with the presenters through question and answer sessions and a discussion group. Each session will be archived on the Izaak Walton League's website and will be available on DVD for future use.

This on-line training series is made possible with support from the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

For more information, visit the Izaak Walton League’s webcasts webpage or contact Suzanne Zanelli, 301-548-0150, ext. 223 or send email to: szanelli@iwla.org .

3/10/2006