KANSAS CITY, Mo. — If you live in Overland Park or another Johnson County city, you can get reimbursed for projects you do in your yard this spring.
The city of Overland Park has a year-long stormwater cost-share program, where it encourages residents and business owners to incorporate stormwater management strategies onto their properties.
The city pays for the reimbursement through tax dollars every year and says it has more than $15,000 to give out for multiple applicants this year, and up to 50% of every project can be reimbursed.
Lists of eligible projects include the installation of rain barrels, rain gardens, planting native trees and floating wetlands.
The city plans to promote the program on Earth Day and says it is a great time to apply.
"This the perfect time of year because there's a ton of native plants. You know, there's sales going on, native plant producers and landscape architects that are ripe and ready to put this stuff into the ground," Ian Fannin Hughes, a water quality specialist with the city said. "Most of our applicants actually do the work themselves, and it's pretty simple, much like any other plant, they like good soil, like water and a lot of sunlight, there's not a lot of other needs that they have."
One of the projects that residents could get reimbursed for is to plant native plants in their yard.
The city forester, Bailey Patterson, also reminds residents that it's not all about the prettiest trees, but the ones that can truly help the environment they live in.
"Certainly not just planting new trees but caring for what you have this existing. So making sure that if we have periods of drought that you water your trees, even mature trees need to be watered, healthy trees that have adequate nutrients and water. They're less susceptible to disease and pathogen so they stay healthier longer and they can respond to storm damage better," Patterson said. "So just remembering to maintain what's already existing and not just planting what's new, and then to encourage people to look at native or trees that are beneficial for insects and wildlife, and not just necessarily think the prettiest looking tree."
To apply for Overland Park's program, you can visit the city website.
To learn about other Johnson County cities' programs, you can visit the Johnson County website.
