TiDBiTs of Information

Everyone plays an important role in maintaining the water quality of local streams. Here you will find a list of activities you can do in your own home, garden, and yard that will benefit the water quality in your local stream!

Plant only native plant species in your yard. This will reduce the amount of water, pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers needed to maintain a healthy plant. 

Don't mow grass lower than three inches as this is a good height to slow water runoff which can reduce erosion of streams!

Leave your grass clippings on your lawn to act as a natural fertilizer and to help keep soil moist.

If you have to use chemicals on your lawn or plants, look for ones that are environmentally friendly such as organic fertilizers.

Use rain barrels to collect and store rainwater to use for watering. Make sure to check regulations surrounding the use of rain barrels in your area. 

Avoid littering as litter will always find its way to your local stream.

Pick up pet poop to reduce the chances of waste entering your local stream during storms.

Make sure to dispose of household wastes properly. Items such as automotive fluids, chemical cleaners, and batteries can cause serious environmental damage if they enter your local stream.

Make sure to keep any storm water drains, culverts, roadside ditches, and gutters around your home clean and free from debris. 

Minimize the amount of impervious surfaces (sidewalks, patios, pavers, etc.) on your property to ensure that water is able to enter the soil.

Make sure to plant or mulch over any exposed soil to reduce the chances of soil erosion and runoff into your local stream. 

If you live in an area with lots of rain, consider adding a rain garden to your landscaping.

If you wash your car at home, make sure to do so over grass or other pervious areas so water is able to enter the soil. If you go to a car wash, make sure they participate in water recycling on-site.

Consider participating in an adopt-a-stream program in your neighborhood or town. 

Conserve water as much as possible! This can be done by taking shorter showers, making sure any water leaks are fixed, and turning off any faucet when it is not in use

VOTE! Make sure to vote for those who make a point to speak up about the environment. 

Incorporating even one of these activities into your daily life can have significant positive impacts on your local stream's water quality. I hope you will try one today!

Sources: 

https://www.3riverswetweather.org/sites/default/files/homeowners%20guide.pdf

https://mariettaga.gov/DocumentCenter/View/217/Homeowners-Guide-to-Drainage-PDF?bidId=

https://delawareriverkeeper.org/sites/default/files/DRNs_20Ways_to_Protect_Streams_2011.pdf

https://content.yardmap.org/learn/stream-can-protect/

https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/protect-water-and-land/land-and-water-stories/how-we-protect-watersheds/

https://www.ohioriverfdn.org/stewardship/what_you_can_do/10_ways_to_protect_your_watershed.html

Overview

Bradford pears (Pyrus calleryana) may be a familiar sight in Western North Carolina lining driveways, dotting neighborhoods, and bursting with white blooms each spring. However, underneath that attractive exterior lies a serious ecological threat, and one that can undermine the very landscape health you're working to protect.

Bradford pears are highly invasive. Though originally marketed as sterile, these trees readily cross-pollinate with other Callery pear varieties, producing viable seeds that birds spread far and wide. The result? Dense thickets of thorny wild pears that crowd out native vegetation along roadsides, forest edges, and streambanks - exactly the areas where native plants are needed most to stabilize soil and prevent erosion.

Their shallow, brittle root systems offer little in the way of meaningful erosion control. Native trees like river birch, serviceberry, or redbud, by contrast, develop deep, robust root networks that bind soil, absorb stormwater, and support the broader ecosystem. Bradford pears also provide minimal wildlife value as their fruit is largely inedible to native species, and their structure supports far fewer insects than native alternatives.

North Carolina has recognized this threat: Bradford and Callery pears are now on the state's invasive species watch list, and nurseries are being encouraged to phase them out entirely.

If you have Bradford pears on your property, removing them and replacing them with native species is one of the most impactful steps you can take for soil health, water quality, and the long-term resilience of your landscape. At iNDe Ecosystems, we can help you make that transition!

Resources

IDing Bradford Pear Website

NC Bradford Pear Bounty Website

NC Invasive Plant Council Website

SC Bradford Pear Bounty Website

Template for Speaking with Local Nurseries

"Hello, my name is [NAME] and I am a concerned resident of [CITY/TOWN]. 

I am reaching out today to ask that [STORE NAME] consider stop carrying Bradford Pear trees and other invasive pear cultivars. Bradford Pears are an invasive species that are causing significant damage to our local ecosystems by overtaking native habitats, disrupting food chains, and forming dense monocultures that destroy wildlife habitat. Several states, including South Carolina, Ohio, and Pennsylvania have already banned the sale and cultivation of this tree due to its harmful impact on the environment. As a valued retailer in our community, you have the power to make a difference by choosing to carry native, non-invasive tree alternatives instead. I would greatly appreciate your consideration of this request and look forward to hearing your response. 

Thank you for your time."

Overview

Many residents in Western North Carolina are surprised to see counties packed with trees and greenery show up on the drought map right alongside dry, agricultural counties. It seems backwards: don't forests make their own rain?

Trees do release enormous amounts of water vapor into the air through transpiration (water absorbed by roots and released through leaves). That vapor genuinely does contribute to local humidity and, under the right conditions, to cloud formation and rainfall downwind. But a forest's water cycle is only one small piece of the puzzle. Drought usually isn't caused by a lack of vapor, it's caused by large-scale weather patterns (a stalled high-pressure system, a shifted jet stream, below-normal rainfall for weeks or months) that prevent existing moisture from ever condensing into rain. When soil dries out, trees actually respond by closing the pores on their leaves to conserve water, which reduces how much vapor they release, right when the region needs rain the most. So a heavily wooded county can be transpiring plenty of water and still sit in "Severe" or "Extreme" drought on the map, because the atmosphere overhead simply isn't set up to turn that vapor into rain.

As of mid-September 2026, more than two-thirds of North Carolina's counties are experiencing some level of drought, with parts of the Piedmont in extreme or exceptional drought which are the two worst categories tracked. Western North Carolina counties, including parts of Cherokee, Haywood, and Swain, have also seen conditions worsen in recent weeks despite healthy tree cover.

Check Current Conditions

The U.S. Drought Monitor updates its maps every Thursday and is the go-to source used by NC's Drought Management Advisory Council:

🔗 North Carolina Drought Monitor Map

What You Can Do During Drought

• Check the map above periodically, especially heading into fall and winter planting season.

• Water new plantings deeply and infrequently rather than a little every day as this encourages deeper, more drought-resilient root systems.

• Mulch bare soil to slow evaporation and keep root zones cooler and moister.

• Hold off on fertilizing during drought; stressed plants can't process nutrients efficiently and it can do more harm than good.

• Prioritize drought tolerant native plants.