Fifty-six thousand Lakewood residents. Almost 25 thousand households. Presumably, every household has at least one trash can. Next month, these cans will all become obsolete as our town moves to curbside trash collection and switches to automated-truck-friendly roll-out receptacles instead. What in the world can we do with all those trash cans? It would be a shame to deposit all these still-usable, yet seemingly useless, containers in a landfill, as seems likely to be the case. What a perfect opportunity for the City of Lakewood to encourage its residents to begin composting as a way of sustaining the environment. Large scale backyard composting in the city of Lakewood could result in a significant reduction of solid waste and the resources necessary to manage it; less stress to landfills; and even reduced use of chemical fertilizers which find their way into our city’s soil, groundwater, and even food.

The annual late summer buzz of the cicadas is a precursor to the coming fall. The days are beginning to shorten and soon the trees will begin to show some early autumn color. The late summer and fall seasons are perfect for transplanting trees and shrubs. The summer warmed soils give plenty of opportunity for root growth and the shorter cooler days reduce the amount of water loss from the plant...

The Lakewood Department of Human Services, Division of Aging will sponsor the Annual Senior Picnic on Friday, July 11TH at the Lakewood Kiwanis Pavilion from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm (rain or shine). This has always proven to be wonderful summer event with live music, games, prizes, raffles, dancing and a box lunch...

Black flies, scientific name tabanids, are quite common in Lakewood. They appear most frequently from April through June, but they can survive into the late summer months. This large, diverse group of blood feeding flies is noticed most during the spring and early summer months because this is when they breed and the females suck human and animal blood to feed their eggs.

Ever wonder about those small swarming summer insects? They are midges and belong to the family Chironomidae. Although they resemble irritating mosquitoes, these six-legged wonders do not bite. In fact, the only time they eat is during their four-week aquatic larval stage. A female midge lays her eggs in the water. The white larvae, which emerge, eat decomposing vegetation on the bottom of the lake or pond. After the larval stage, an immature midge becomes a pupa. From this form, the larvae are transformed into adult midges. Midges hatch on the surface of the water and this is when they are most commonly viewed. They live only long enough to reproduce. The swarming masses seen in the summer months are here to mate. Once they have mated and the eggs are laid, adult midges die.