LEAP Program

Conservation District offers LakeWise
and LEAP this Summer

By Ashley Leeman

The Lake Education and Action Program (LEAP) is run by the Poultney Mettowee Natural Resources Conservation District (PMNRCD) every summer and sponsored by the Lake Champlain Sea Grant. LEAP is a program that allows landowners along the lakes of Vermont to partake in Best Management Practices for conserving lake resources. With the help of high school and college interns and local volunteers, PMNRCD will plant aesthetically pleasing native trees and shrubs on lakeside properties, creating a buffer zone or rain garden which will filter runoff. Household pesticides and fertilizers, along with other solutions used for lawn-care, can pollute local lakes. Sediment erosion from storms and excavation are lake pollutants, as well. Native plant buffers on lakeside properties protect Vermont’s lakes and keep them healthier for all to enjoy, including wildlife. 

Participating in LEAP also gives property owners the opportunities to have educational conversations with the District about conserving lake health and possibly getting involved in the Vermont DEC’s Lake Wise Program. Lake Wise is another program based around lake conservation which rewards lakeside property owners for participating in Best Management Practices for lake health.

PMNRCD is happy to work with any property owners who wish to be involved in LEAP or LakeWise this summer. If interested, please contact either Ashey Leemans, LEAP Coordinator, by email at ashleemans@gmail.com or Hilary Solomon, District Manager, by email at hilary@pmnrcd.org, new phone number (802) 287-6880. To schedule plantings, please contact the District by July 1, 2019.