The instructional flyer from the show

The American Lawn

America loves its lawns. The manicured lawn with its tightly cropped shrubs has become a poignant symbol of the suburban neighborhood. Mowing, watering, fertilizing, and raking have become weekly rituals across the United States as we strive to maintain the lush green grass that extends like a carpet from our homes.

Across the United States there are 58 million lawns covering more than 20 million acres. That makes grass the largest single “crop” in America and a significant part of the American landscape. Compound this fact with the following facts:

• Homeowners use up to 10 times more chemical pesticides per acre than farmers do.
• In 1984, more synthetic fertilizers were applied annually to American lawns than the entire country of India applied to all of its food crops.
• In 1990, 70 million pounds of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides were applied to residential homes and gardens.
• In the eastern US lawn watering accounts for 30% of urban water use and in western US it accounts for as much as 60% of urban water use.
• Yard waste is the second-largest component of the solid waste stream that chokes our landfills.
• In the hour it takes to mow the average lawn, the inefficient two-cycle engine that powers the standards lawn mower emits pollutants equivalent to driving an automobile 350 miles.

So while your yard may seem ecologically insignificant, the cumulative effect of standard lawn-care practices clearly has environmental implications.

Closing Doors

The rampant destruction of ancient trees and the massive extinction of countless species have made the tropical rainforests the poster child of the environmental movement. But habitat destruction and species displacement are not unique to the tropics.

Across the United States the highly simplified lawn ecosystem has replaced the structurally complex ecosystems of woodlands, wetlands, grasslands and deserts. Diverse indigenous flora have been uprooted by manufactured turf grasses. Large native trees have been supplanted by ornamental shrubs. And as the homogeneous lawn displaces natural vegetation it also displaces the creatures that rely on the vegetation for cover, food, and shelter. First goes the wildflowers, then the insects, and then the songbirds. So while our green lawns may look environmentally friendly they may, in fact, be closing crucial ecological doors.

In as much as insensitive lawn care practices play a role in the continuing decline of local species of plants and animals, our backyards can also offer a very real opportunity to promote biotic diversity and preserve the indigenous flora and fauna that makes this region unique.

This widespread problem can only be solved one backyard at a time. We first need to stop thinking of our lawns as a grass carpet that is purchased by the foot. Rather, we need to remember that our backyards are small pieces of the biosphere and that every backyard can be a healthy, diverse ecosystem.

This is not to say that all aspects of our lawns are ecologically unsound or that we have to give up our treasured touch-football arenas and barbecue havens. Hardly, but we do need to reflect on the implications of our actions.

Envision a Pastoral Setting

One way of reducing the lawns impact on the local environment is as simple as relinquishing some control allowing nature to take its course. The shade-intolerant Kentucky bluegrass that has required excessive water and fertilizer will give way to native grasses better suited for sunless areas if such extra ordinary measures are withheld. Allowing grass clippings to decompose where they are cut provides a natural source of nutrients which saves on the expense of disposing of clippings and the cost of nitrogen fertilizer.

On a more proactive level, organic fertilizers and pesticides can be substituted for their chemical counterparts. By encouraging such native non-grass species as clover and low growing broad leaf plants your lawn can be both biologically diverse and green.

You might also consider how much lawn you actually need. Such non-lawn alternatives as plots of wildflowers become an oasis for songbirds and butterflies. Fruit-bearing shrubs offer both food and cover for a range of wildlife.

With a small investment, about as much as you would have spent on fertilizer and pesticides, you can purchase native trees and shrubs that will not only promote species diversity but will also serve such human needs as a snowfence, windbreak, or just provide privacy.

Unlike the uniform lawn ecosystem, there is no standard formula for designing a healthy backyard habitat. There are only a range of strategies from which to creatively draw. Through education and thoughtful planning we can adapt our lawns to fulfill our aesthetic, functional, and environmental needs.

Stewardship: A Call for All

“We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frost’s familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth.”
— Rachel Carson

Stewardship is the wise management and use of natural and agricultural resources. It is a principle that involves planning carefully and making informed decisions based on the land’s ability to support different uses. The basic principle of stewardship requires thoughtful decision making that balances the demands of today with the needs of tomorrow.

We need to explore a range of creative strategies that look for practical solutions beyond the status quo. By wisely choosing sound and ecologically responsible alternatives to the classic American lawn, we can unite our environmental concerns with direct personal action.

By collaborating with nature, our small section of the biosphere can reestablish an equilibrium that will evolve into a diverse pastoral landscape that will meet the needs of this generation and future generations.