Local extension office might be helpful

https://www.uaex.uada.edu/about-extension/united-states-extension-offices.aspx

Idk how they work in every state but I think most of the time they’re connected to one of the state universities, their job is to do public outreach and education and give environmental advice to like farmers and home gardeners.

I'm gonna assume you're in the US because of the name lol. Here's a guide listing all states with their cooperative extension links. All of them are pretty much just landing pages you'll have to look further into, usually there are local offices that may be in your county or at least adjacent. They help with small farms, argriculture, natural resources, development, etc. They're literally paid and whole purpose is to answer your questions and be there as a guide for you, some of them are extremely awesome, encouraging, and absolutely love their jobs when they can help someone. A lot of them offer workshops and classes for families as well, I've done some blueberry and one bee event (made me realize I wasn't ready lol).

So looking into it more, found some interesting history bits I wasn't aware of. The Cooperative Extension and 4-H program was developed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and covers all states.

4-H Program:

4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development" Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times in the organization's original motto head, heart, hands, and health, which was later incorporated into the fuller pledge officially adopted in 1927.

The goal of 4-H is to develop citizenship, leadership, responsibility and life skills of youth through experiential learning programs and a positive youth development approach. Though typically thought of as an agriculturally focused organization as a result of its history, 4-H today focuses on citizenship, healthy living, science, engineering, and technology programs.

USDA saw that adults in the farming community did not readily accept new agricultural discoveries. However, educators found that youth would experiment with these new ideas and then share their experiences and successes with the adults. As a result rural youth programs became a way to introduce new agriculture technology to the adults.

Cooperative Extension System:

The Cooperative Extension System is a non-formal educational program implemented in the United States designed to help people use research-based knowledge to improve their lives. The service is provided by the state's designated land-grant universities. In most states, the educational offerings are in the areas of agriculture and food, home and family, environment, community economic development, and youth and 4-H.

Traditionally, each county of all 50 states had a local extension office. This number has declined as some county offices have consolidated into regional extension centers. Today, there are approximately 2,900 extension offices nationwide.

Since 2005, the Extension system has collaborated in developing eXtension.org (pronounced "e-extension"). eXtension is an Internet-based learning platform where Extension professionals and citizens nationwide and beyond have 24/7 access to unbiased, research-based, peer-reviewed information from land-grant universities on a wide range of topics. Information is organized into articles, professional development resources, news, frequently asked questions, and blog posts that provide a knowledge-to-action service that has become an integral part of the Cooperative Extension System. In 2015, the nonprofit, member-based eXtension Foundation was created to advance innovation and technology-enhanced professional development going forward.

The wiki link for the cooperative extension system above also has listing for state resources to better hone done your area. Doing all the research alone and on the internet which has 5 million results can be daunting. These spaces give the ability for local experts to chime in without being drowned out in a larger national or world-wide stage. If you need any more resources or want me to look into your local area just message me. I love these people and their commitment so connecting you to them is a plus for both parties.

yeah, ernst was recommended to me by my state's department of conservation. we specified the seed mix by %weight and they mixed it for us. no invasives in my planting (yet lol)

since you brought up the septic / dug up area, i have heard from folks around here that work for a conservancy that they've had good results sowing wildflower plugs into existing lawns instead of doing extensive site prep. Once the wildflowers start growing, the lawn becomes uncompetitive as it gets shaded out. I want to try that next year I think with seed plugs started indoors from my existing plantings, because site prep was really difficult and seed is expensive. @happybadger@hexbear.net might also have some thoughts on this