Clean Yards, Clean Water: Stormwater education that starts at home.
Take the Clean Yard, Clean Water Pledge
Join your neighbors in committing to responsible yard practices. By signing the pledge, you will:
• Commit to reducing nutrient runoff from your property
• Receive a yard sign to promote clean water practices
• Help demonstrate measurable community behavior change
• Become part of a regional movement to protect Tampa Bay
• Receive a yard sign to promote clean water practices
• Help demonstrate measurable community behavior change
• Become part of a regional movement to protect Tampa Bay
From your yard to the Bay — choose to be part of the solution.
The Problem
When it rains in the Tampa Bay region, water flows across rooftops, driveways, and lawns — carrying fertilizer, pesticides, and yard waste into storm drains.
Storm drains do not filter or treat water.
They flow directly into our creeks, rivers, and Tampa Bay.
Excess nutrients — especially nitrogen — fuel harmful algal blooms, damage seagrass, reduce water clarity, and threaten fish, birds, marine life, and pollinators. Urban lawn practices are one of the leading contributors to nutrient pollution in our watershed.
Many residents simply don’t realize that what they apply to their yard can travel miles downstream.
Stormwater pollution starts at home — but so does the solution.
What is TBBF Doing About it?
The Tampa Bay Butterfly Foundation is launching a regional stormwater education initiative to reduce fertilizer and yard waste runoff across Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas counties.
Through this program, we are:
• Hosting community workshops with live stormwater runoff demonstrations
• Providing hands-on stormwater models for youth education
• Partnering with Title I schools for field trips and nature-based learning
• Distributing 3,000 educational flyers across the community
• Mailing targeted postcards to neighborhoods with high nitrogen pollution
• Giving away native plants to reduce chemical-reliant landscaping
• Launching a public pledge campaign with 500 yard signs to promote visible behavior change
• Providing hands-on stormwater models for youth education
• Partnering with Title I schools for field trips and nature-based learning
• Distributing 3,000 educational flyers across the community
• Mailing targeted postcards to neighborhoods with high nitrogen pollution
• Giving away native plants to reduce chemical-reliant landscaping
• Launching a public pledge campaign with 500 yard signs to promote visible behavior change
This initiative supports regional water quality goals and empowers residents with clear, science-based actions they can take immediately.
Our mission connects pollinator protection with water protection — because healthy yards create healthy waterways.
TAKE ACTION – WHAT YOU CAN DO
Reducing stormwater pollution does not require major changes — just smarter ones.
You can:
- Reduce or eliminate unnecessary fertilizer use
- Never fertilize before rainfall
- Choose slow-release, low-phosphorus products
- Sweep excess fertilizer off sidewalks and driveways
- Keep grass clippings and leaves out of streets
- Plant native species that require fewer chemicals
- Limit pesticide use to protect pollinators and beneficial insects
These small actions reduce nitrogen runoff, improve water quality, and protect Tampa Bay’s ecosystem.
Every yard is part of the watershed.
Want more information on the Tampa Bay Watershed?
