BROOKINGS, S.D. – South Dakota State University is pleased to announce the second year of its virtual Backyard Natural Resources series on May 6, 8, 13 and 15, 2025.
Aimed for experienced and aspiring gardeners, Backyard Natural Resources features four hour-long webinars that each delve into a different topic important for lawn and garden management. They are free to attend, but registration is required to receive the Zoom link. To register, visit the SDSU Extension Events page and search “backyard”.
This year’s series starts on May 6 with a presentation by Chris Goldade from the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition on soil health, and continues on May 8 with Robin Buterbaugh, SDSU Extension Horticulture Field Specialist, discussing rainwater harvesting and water conservation strategies.
On May 13, Amanda Bachmann, SDSU Extension Urban Entomology Field Specialist, will talk about “balancing bugs and blooms” on a backyard scale and the importance of insects to a healthy outdoor ecosystem.
“How can we get cool with pests while managing the ones that are eating things we don’t want them to eat?” Bachmann said. “If you want to find out what insect I consider to be nature’s garden plankton, join us.”
The series will end on May 15 with a spring climate outlook from Laura Edwards, SDSU Extension State Climatologist; and tips on gardening in a drought from Kristine Lang, assistant professor and SDSU Extension Consumer Horticulture Specialist.
Bachmann said this casual lunch-and-learn style series gives attendees a chance to dig into a topic with experts in a fun and interactive way, with plenty of time for questions from attendees.
“I think this series is really cool because it does bring those topics like water conservation or soil health that people usually think about on a larger scale,” Bachmann said. “There are things you can do if you’re gardening in a community garden or apartment.”
For those who can’t attend live, the series will be posted to the SDSU Extension YouTube channel.
For more information, contact Amanda Bachmann, SDSU Extension Urban Entomology Field Specialist.
