Landscape architect Eric Wahl to discuss backyard buffers March 23

Editors note: Lewes library is closed until April 1, for information go to lewes.lib.de.us

The Delaware Native Plant Society will present From Backyards to Buffers - Reclaiming Nature Through Better Design, from 4 to 6 p.m., Monday, March 23, at the Lewes Public Library. This educational symposium will explore the benefits of vegetated backyards and buffers in the region.

The session will focus on the many types of buffers, their positive benefits to the environment and the services they provide, which can be easily replicated in backyards and gardens. Better design and better choices in planting, with a focus on native species, will ultimately help the local community by improving green infrastructure and connecting natural habitats within local neighborhoods.

From forested buffers to riparian buffers and roadside buffers, how they are planted and what is planted both play a vital role in reclaiming nature. The cumulative effect of adding portions of private backyards to this vision can be monumental. How much so is dependent on how many citizens take part.

Eric W. Wahl, president of the Delaware Native Plant Society, will speak on this topic using Lewes and its surrounding neighborhoods as a model and base for discussion. Wahl is a local landscape architect at Element Design Group in Lewes, and an adjunct professor of landscape design at Delaware Tech. A short time for questions will follow the presentation.