Business Friends of Engelsby Brook:
Engaging the business community in NPS pollution prevention

participating business landscape The Engelsby Brook Watershed encompasses approximately 1 square mile in the developed South End of Burlington. The Brook is classified by the state as impaired by pathogens and consistently displays poor biological condition and habitat degradation. The Brook is the focus of a long term $1.8million restoration project by the City to improve the overall physical and water quality condition of the Brook and to permit the lifting of the permanent beach closure now in effect at Blanchard’s Beach, at the mouth of the Brook.

The one square mile watershed area is approximately 56% residential, 23% commercial/institutional, 18 % BCC golf course and 3% forest and parks. About 24% of the watershed surface area is covered by impervious surface. The watershed contains about 750 properties and is home to approximately 3100 residents.

participating school There are numerous educational activities to reduce non point source pollution underway in the watershed, ranging from specific educational efforts aimed at residential property owners, school based programs and general public educational efforts, such as those supported by the Chittenden County Regional Stormwater Education Project. While business and institutional properties comprise 23% of the watershed area, there have been no pollution prevention education efforts to address the needs of the watershed business community.

The Business Friends of Engelsby Brook project, a collaboration of Lake Champlain Sea Grant and Friends of Burlington Gardens, informed non-residential property owners/managers in the watershed about water quality issue and pollution prevention, and provided specific guidance and technical support to promote adoption of lower input landscape maintenance practices.

participating business The project was highly successful. We were able to contact property managers of 35 of the 46 businesses identified as high priority, based on total landscaped area and maintenance level. Eighteen agreed to take part in a survey to define commonly used landscape maintenance practices, a respectable 43% overall response rate. These 18 businesses were invited to participate in a low input landscape program, and 10 agreed. The low input landscape program provided businesses with an evaluation of the property by a specialist from Friends of Burlington Gardens, on the spot advice on applicable low input grounds care practices, a supporting guidebook to low input landscaping, a door sticker identifying the business as a Business Friend of the Brook, and on-going support from a specialist at Friends of Burlington Gardens and from the UVM Master Gardener program.

participating business landscape The impact of this program is considerable, and the adoption rate among contacted businesses was significant at 29%. These 10 owners/managers, including two contracted lawn care companies, managed 16 of the priority properties, or 35% of the total number of priority parcels. More importantly, the 16 properties where one or more low input landscape practices were adopted accounted for more than 50% of the total area of priority business properties in the watershed.

The adoption of low input practices resulted in significant reductions in fertilizer and pesticide inputs to the Brook. Adoption of low input grounds care practices in this small urban watershed resulted in an estimated reduction of 0.45 - 0.93 metric tons of phosphorous. The entire Lake Champlain basin phosphorus reduction target is 80 metric tons annually. Estimates were based on the range of commercial phosphorous application practices in the area.

participating church landscape Adopting property managers recognized that they could maintain acceptable lawns and grounds and realize a cost savings, making the low input effort sustainable. The project also provided a mechanism for the effective involvement of business in community water quality protection. Businesses have a standing interest in being part of greater community efforts. Engaging them in a watershed wide pollution prevention effort made many of the adopting businesses feel like they were contribution to the common good of the neighborhoods they were located in. This high level of business involvement and visibility as Business Neighbors should also increase public awareness of water quality issues and pollution prevention. Increased customer awareness of business efforts in local water quality protection and having two lawn service firms adopt low input practices spreads the message inside and outside the target watershed.

There will be a similar project in Rutland VT in 2006. Groups from three New England states (ME, RI, CT) have inquired about details of the project and expressed interest in adopting this approach to improve business community involvement in local water quality improvement efforts. Click here to view the powerpoint presentation "Friends of the Engelsby Brook Restoration Project".