The Sustainable Backyard Tour showcases a range of green living best-practices, including low-impact lawn care, composting and using recycled materials, organic gardening, chicken and beekeeping, gardening with native plants, water conservation, and renewable energy production.
Your yard doesn’t need to be perfect, elaborate or even large. You just need to be eco-friendly, pesticide free and have something to demonstrate that the public can learn from. We ask that our hosts, as examples of sustainability and environmental education, commit to using compost and other best practices over synthetic shortcuts that poison and kill with unintended consequences.
As a host, you agree to open your yard from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and interact with visitors—anywhere from 50 to 300 might visit your yard! You’ll need a helper—family or friend—to spell  you when you need to take a break or get a bite. Don’t try to host alone! It’s a lot of work. But so much fun!
While many host sites are single family backyards, we encourage residents of apartment buildings with community or rooftop gardens, and those with green front yards to apply, too. Â If you have worked hard to make your yard sustainable, consider being a host.
Once you register, someone will contact you to schedule a visit. Most of our contact is done via email, so please give us the address you check most often. Also check out our Host FAQ.
The deadline to register is May 1st.