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Tennessee Smart Yards (formerly Tennessee Yards & Neighborhoods) is a University of Tennessee-led program that guides and assists Tennessee residents and neighborhood associations on practices they can apply in their yards and common spaces to create healthier living spaces and communities.  Nine fundamental principles of sustainability serve as the cornerstone for the program and are being incorporated into an ever-broadening selection of popular and practical workshops taught by UT Extension and water resource professionals.  Our courses aim to help homeowners achieve a landscape that reflects their values, desires and needs, while ensuring the protection of our state's waterways.

You don't have to be an expert gardener or landscaper to create a Tennessee Smart Yard. All it takes is a willingness to learn and a desire to build a yard that is based on the nine principles found in our handbook:

• Right plant, right place
• Manage Soils and Mulch
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
• Water efficiently
• Use fertilizer appropriately
• Manage yard pests
• Reduce storm water runoff and its pollutants
• Provide for wildlife
• Protect water's edge

Knox County Stormwater Management is a proud partner of the TNSY program and works with program coordinators to educate homeowners and gardeners via a series of homeowner workshops on everything from how to install a rain garden in your yard to using integrated pest management as an alternative to pesticides. For more information, call (865) 215-5540 or email us at stormwater@knoxcounty.org.