Welcome to our month-by-month Disaster Readiness Calendar!
How can your public garden prepare for droughts?
Almost everywhere experiences drought conditions. Public gardens depend on regular rain to support their plants and ecosystem. Having a plan can help mitigate the damages and save your collections. Planning ahead is more efficient, more effective, and can save your garden a lot of money.
The National Integrated Drought Information System coordinates drought monitoring, forecasting, planning, and information at national, tribal, state, and local levels. To begin preparing, check out their advice, divided by sector.
Having a plan in place for variations in the water supply can allow you to respond quickly when disaster may impact your public garden.
Ask yourself the following:
- How will drought affect us? The impacts of drought can vary greatly. Learn more with this Drought Impacts Toolkit.
- How will we recognize the next drought in the early stages? Check out the U.S. Drought Monitor and these monitoring tools to learn more about accessing the extent and severity of drought throughout the United States.
- How can we protect ourselves from the next drought? Delve into the Drought Management Database to learn more about what has been implemented in responding to and preparing for drought.
After researching impacts, monitoring, and management options, you will need to develop a plan. This will include how your organization will recognize and respond to drought conditions. Check out the National Drought Mitigation Center’s Planning Processes to help start your plan.
For more information on planning, monitoring, and education efforts check out The National Drought Mitigation Center’s website.
Water conservation is one of the best ways to prepare for a drought.
Some tips that your public garden can implement before a drought occurs include:
- Choose water-efficient irrigation systems
- Check sprinkler systems to ensure that they are operating properly
- Reduce or eliminate lawn areas that aren’t used frequently
- Mulch around trees and plants to retain moisture in the soil and prevent weeds
- Avoid overwatering lawn areas
Check out these conservation tips, for both before and during drought conditions, and implement some into your garden management!
