Sustainable Landscaping Survey
Please take 10 minutes to complete the survey about your landscape and gardening practices. This
survey assesses our ability to teach you long lasting and sustainable landscaping practices and helps
us to improve our educational programs.
Survey responses are anonymous. The trainee code allows us to correlate this first survey with followup on-line surveys, which will be conducted in October 2010 and September 2011. Your name and
address will be kept separate from your survey answers and your answers will be anonymous.
Those who complete all surveys over the course of the next year are eligible to be included in a raffle
for a $300 gift card. Only those participants who complete all three surveys(one on day of training and
two afterward by going on-line when we send an email) will be eligible for the drawing for the gift card.
For the purposes of this survey ‘sustainable landscaping practices’ are defined as principles and
practices including effective and efficient irrigation, reduction and recycling of green waste from the
garden/landscape, use of fewer and appropriate pesticides and fertilizers or alternative non-chemical
measures, proper plant selection based on wildlife habitat enhancement, water needs of the plants and
the reduction of green waste disposal sent to the landfill.
This research project is supported by a grant from the Elvinia Slosson Fund.
Please check all answers that apply. If you don’t know the answer to a question, just leave it blank.
You must have your trainee code to take the survey. It was given to you when you completed the first
hard copy of the survey during your original training session. If you don't have it, please email
kapaul@ucdavis.edu and submit your email address, requesting you be emailed your code (it is linked
only to your email address) and we can look it up for you. When we email your code to you, you may
continue with this survey. Many thanks.
* = Required
Question
Response
* Please tell us your trainee code,
taken from the original hard copy
baseline survey you completed
during the Sustainable Landscape
Training program.
WATER CONSERVATION & QUALITY
IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
Which of the following irrigation
devices do you use? (Check all
that apply)
Smart controllers (weather-based)/timers
Automatic controllers
Conventional underground pop-up sprinklers
Low flow sprinklers (rotor heads)
Micro sprinklers
Drip irrigation
Soaker hoses
Hand watering with hose-end sprinkler
Other (please list or describe)?
If you have an irrigation controller,
how often is it adjusted?
Weekly
Monthly
Seasonally
On for Summer/Off for Winter (2 times/year)
If you have a lawn: what kind of
turf is it?
How big is it?
No lawn
< 1000 sq feet (10 feet x 10 feet)
1000 sq feet to 5000 sq feet
5000 sq feet to 10,000 sq feet
>10,000 sq feet
How often do you irrigate in the
summer?
Daily
Every other day
Every three days
Once a week
Only as needed
If you have a lawn, what time of
day do you usually water?
Overnight
Morning
Day
Evening
Varies
Never
Has it been aerated in the last
year?
Yes
No
WATER CONSERVATION
Which of the following practices do
you perform to conserve water?
(Check all that apply.)
Perform a lawn water audit (also called a ‘can test’) to
ensure proper water distribution on lawn
Terrace yard with hills
Install French drains in low spots
Create swales/buffers to capture water
Add mulch to top of soil
Amend soil with compost
Use permeable paving
Place plants with similar water needs together
Plant drought tolerant plants
Thin or remove competing vegetation
Harvest rain water
Water in cycles to improve water penetration
Maintain and regularly repair irrigation system
Redesigned irrigation system to stop watering
sidewalk, pavement, patio
Other? (Please list or describe)
What percentage of the plants in
your yard and garden are climate
appropriate/drought resistant
plants?
Not sure
<10%
10-25%
25-50%
50-75%
75-100%
WATER QUALITY
If granular fertilizers or
pesticides are applied on your
landscape, do the granules ever
get on sidewalks, driveways or
other hard surfaces?
Yes
If yes, how do you clean them
up?
No
I sweep up and put in garbage
I sweep up and put on soil surface
I sweep up and take to dump on hazardous waste
days
PEST MANAGEMENT
In the last 12 months, how often
have there been pesticides
applied to specifically control
ants and/or spiders around the
perimeter of your house or on
hard surfaces such as driveways
or sidewalks?
More than once per month
Monthly
Quarterly
Twice each year
Yearly
Never
Other than for spiders and ants,
how many times did you use
pesticides on your lawn or
landscape last year?
More than once per month
Monthly
Quarterly
Twice each year
Yearly
Never
If these pesticides are applied,
who applied them?
Family member
Pest control company
Do you ever purchase pesticides
(for disease, insects, or weeds)
in a concentrated form and mix
Yes
No
them/dilute them to use on your
landscape?
If yes, how do you dispose of
any leftover or unused pesticide
in your sprayer?
I pour it down the drain or into the gutter
I keep it in my sprayer for next time
I spray the excess on the soil
I read and follow the label instructions for proper
disposal
I don’t have any extra
Do you purchase and apply premixed, ready to use pesticides?
Yes
No
Do you use horticultural oils,
soap or Bacillus thuringiensis
for pest control?
Yes
No
FERTILIZER
In the last year, have any of the
following nitrogen-containing
fertilizers been applied to your
lawn or landscape?
Yes
No
If so, which type(s)?
Synthetic fertilizer
Slow-release synthetic fertilizer
Organically acceptable fertilizer (other than compost)?
How do you decide how much
fertilizer to use each time you
apply?
I measure according to the label directions
I estimate based on what I have done before
My landscaper/gardener calculates and applies it
I do not use fertilizers
In the last year, did you use a
composted material as a
fertilizer?
Yes
If you fertilized in the last year,
why did you choose to fertilize?
I noticed yellowing of leaves
No
I had a soil test performed to determine needed
nutrients
I followed fertilizer manufacturer’s directions
Advice from a Master Gardener, neighbor, nursery, or
professional
I have always fertilized this way
Other? (copy)
RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING
Do you compost?
Yes
If yes, which of the following
things do you compost? (Check
all that apply)
No
lawn clippings
woody prunings
herbaceous prunings
weeds
garden waste
kitchen waste
Other?
In the last year have there been
any applications to your
landscape/garden of organic
matter that has gone through
decomposition by either an
aerobic heating process or
worms?
Do you grass-cycle (leave
clippings in place as you mow
the lawn)?
Yes
No
Always
Sometimes
Never
Do you put grass clippings or
leaves on garden beds without
composting them?
Always
Sometimes
Never
Which steps have you taken to
reduce off-site disposal of
clippings, prunings, and other
green waste from your yard?
Chip and use as mulch
Compost and use as mulch or soil amendment
Replace plants that require frequent pruning
None, I dispose of them in the green waste container
None, they go in the trash container.
Which of the following types of
organic matter have you added
to your lawn or landscape in the
last year?
grass clippings
leaves
homemade compost
chicken manure
steer manure
horse manure
commercial compost
redwood sawdust
None
Other? (Please list or describe)
What is the percentage of your
total garden waste that makes its
way to a recycling program
through a green-waste bin or
green-waste pile at the street?
Zero
25%
50%
75%
100%
ENERGY
Which of the following
landscape practices have you
done to conserve energy in your
landscape practices? (Check all
that apply.)
Planted trees on west or south side of my home
Use a broom to sweep up debris instead of blower
Use electric blower, instead of gasoline powered
Use blowers, but less often than before
Use a non-powered push mower
Planted a turf grass that requires less mowing
Switched from a gas powered mower to an electric
mower
Give lawn mower a tune-up for better gas efficiency
Other? (Please list or describe)
ENCOURAGING WILDLIFE/SUSTAINING THE ENVIRONMENT
Which of the following wildlife
habitat activities do you
incorporate into your
garden/landscape?
Leave a small portion of your garden undisturbed
Provide shelter for multiple species
Plant food sources for wildlife
Provide water
Plant some native plants
Plant heirloom varieties
Use bird feeders (seed and/or syrup) in my yard
Have birdbaths or water features in my yard
Intentionally let plants set seed for wildlife food
Other? (Please specify)
Which of the following species
of wildlife do you actively
promote and encourage in your
garden/landscape?
Butterflies
Birds
Bees
Wasps
Other insects
Bats
Other mammals
Amphibians
Reptiles
In which of the following
voluntary programs promoting
wildlife enhancements do you
participate?
National Wildlife Federation’s Backyard Wildlife
Habitat Program
Seed Savers Exchange
Butterfly Garden and Habitat Program
Audubon Healthy Yard Pledge
Bee Friendly Farming
None
Other? (Please specify)
FOLLOWUP & FUTURE
Please look back at the questions
above about specific landscaping
and gardening practices that were
covered in the training. Which ones
have you changed or adopted in
the time since you took the
training? Please list them here.
During the time since you took the
sustainable landscaping training
program, if you didn't make any
changes, please tell us why?
Not enough time
Not enough money
Not too interested
Other (please explain)
WE'D LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOU
In what Sunset Garden Book
Horticultural Zone are you
located?
What is your annual income
range?
under $25,000
$25,000 to $40,000
$41,000 to $60,000
$61,000 to $80,000
over $80,000
Do you own your home or rent
it?
Own
Rent
Do you or your family members
do your own gardening?
Yes
No, I hire a gardening service
What is the number of adults in
your household?
Your age is
Under 25
26-40
41-60
over 60
Your gender is?
Female
Male