Landscapes That Protect Our Waterways
Russian River-Friendly Landscaping is a whole systems approach to design, construction, and maintenance of the landscape which supports the integrity of one of California’s richest and most diverse ecosystems: the Russian River watershed! Create and maintain healthy, beautiful, and vibrant landscapes with the following principles:
- Landscape Locally
- Landscape for Less to the Landfill
- Nurture the Soil
- Conserve Water
- Conserve Energy
- Protect Water and Air Quality
- Conserve and Protect Wildlife Habitat
(View all of the above at Russian River-Friendly Landscaping Resource Library)
Explore Sustainable Landscaping!
Keep scrolling to learn more about:
Russian River-Friendly Landscape Guidelines
Russian River-Friendly Landscape Guidelines
River-Friendly Practices for the Landscape Professional
The Russian River-Friendly Landscape Guidelines is a comprehensive toolbox of principles and practices for landscape professionals in the Russian River watershed. Download the PDF by clicking on the image to the right.
The Guidelines were created for landscape professionals in the Russian River region by RRWA in 2010 with permission and assistance from StopWaste.org in Alameda County. The Guidelines are a Russian River version of the Bay-Friendly Landscape Guidelines, originally published by StopWaste.org in 2003.
Qualified Landscape Professionals
At this time, the Russian River-Friendly Landscape Guidelines program does not offer a certification for professionals in the Russian River watershed. However, Bay-Friendly Qualified Professionals who conduct business within the Russian River Watershed may list themselves as Russian River-Friendly Qualified. Visit our partners at ReScape for a list of ReScape Qualified Professionals.
Click any of the above images to view examples of Russian River-Friendly Landscaping.
Russian River-Friendly Landscaping Sign Program
Russian River-Friendly Landscaping Sign Program
NON-RESIDENTIAL
If you are a landscape professional, property manager, or business owner, this sign can increase customer satisfaction and lead to new client referrals!
View the Russian River-Friendly Landscape Guidelines (RRFLG) Policy for Demonstration Landscape Signage here.
APPLY FOR A SIGN IN 3 EASY STEPS:
- UTILIZE THE GUIDELINES. Do your commercial, public, or nonresidential landscapes use any of the 7 principles listed on this chart? View the guidelines for additional details.
- SNAP PHOTOS. Capture your Russian River-friendly landscapes.
- APPLY FOR A SIGN. Fill out the application and get your sign! The application can take 5-10 minutes to complete.
Russian River-Friendly Landscaping Resources
Learn more about each principle and past events
Our friends at Daily Acts and the City of Santa Rosa have curated a range of their past webinars. Full recordings are available for you to watch at your convenience.
Daily Acts:
- Wildfires & our Ecology: How can we create defensible space?
- Carbon Gardening 1: Healthy Soils and the Climate
- Carbon Gardening 2: Local Models for Replication
- Diving into Drip Irrigation with Kris Loomis.
- FLYER – Carbon Gardening: Sequestering Carbon in Your Soil
- Check out the full archive here
City of Santa Rosa
An Introduction to Carbon Gardening
Resources for Wildfire Resiliency
The Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership has developed eight scalable landscape design templates for fire rebuilds. These free, front yard designs are scalable to fit landscaped areas up to 2,500 square feet, ready-to-permit, and in compliance with local Water Efficient Landscape Ordinances.
The Sonoma Ecology Center partnered with Pepperwood Preserve and the Occidental Arts & Ecology Center to develop a website guide for anyone who plays a role in stewarding land in Sonoma County to achieve a variety of goals, from fire resilience to conserving water, enhancing wildlife habitat, and more.
The Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership and partners are developing free landscape design templates to help fire victims get back in their homes faster, while encouraging long-term environmental sustainability.
- Landscape Design Templates: Free, Easy-to-Permit Landscape Design Templates for the Fire Rebuild
- The main page provides useful information, tips, and resources to help you understand and use the templates, get help with customization and installation, and find more information on the permit process.
Fire Prevention:
- University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources offers information on fire-safe landscaping:
Firewise Gardening and Mulch
While mulch can provide water conservation benefits around our homes, mulch can also be combustible and residents in and around our Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) should learn the best mulch to use and where it can be placed around our homes.
Mulches fall into two main categories, organic and inorganic. Organic mulches usually consist of pine needles, wheat straw, pine bark nuggets, shredded cedar and redwood bark, and other recycled wood chips. Inorganic mulch consists of non-plant material such as rock, gravel, and brick chips, which can be categorized as hardscape. Hardscape can also consist of rocks, stones, bricks, and concrete pathways.
Using the appropriate mulch is key and planning out locations of plants or garden beds that will need the mulch is equally important. Avoid “gorilla hair” or other shredded bark mulches around homes, decks, fences, and other structures. Large bark chips are usually the best option for fire resistance. Fine (less than ¼”) or stingy mulches ignite, burn easier and can be difficult to extinguish when the mulch is greater than 2” in depth. .
Homes built in the WUI after January 1, 2021 are required to have a 3’-5’ “Ignition Free Zone” and only inorganic, non-combustible ground covers or mulch can be used.
The City of Santa Rosa offers more information about firewise gardening recommendations here: www.srcity.org/WildfireReady. The Master Gardeners of Sonoma County have compiled a list of resources for gardening with wildfire in mind.
RRFL Brochures and Flyers
Maintenance Practices
Prácticas de mantenimiento
Russian River-Friendly Landscaping At Home
