Time to Shrink the Lawn!
Jane Ellison
A “responsible” citizen and community member in days gone by tended lawns that were perfectly mowed, fertilized, and weed-free. Times they are a changin'! A knowledgeable, conscientious homeowner in 2023 is more likely to shrink their lawn to plant natives and create a more functional, purposeful landscape. A responsible landscape that shows your friends and neighbors that you care about the health and well-being of your community is:
Sustainable
Supports life
Sequesters carbon
Feeds pollinators
Manages water
As explained by Doug Tallamy, American entomologist, ecologist, conservationist and professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, this is now a necessity rather than a choice. There are four functions that every homeowner’s yard must perform:
Support a diverse community of pollinators throughout the growing season.
Support and provide for the local food web.
Manage the watershed in which they lie.
Capture and remove carbon from the atmosphere where it is wreaking havoc on the Earth’s climate.
We, as backyard stewards, must consider how our landscapes can meet these goals.
Grass is an ecological wasteland and supports no pollinators! It does not nourish the insects that enable birds, butterflies, other insects, reptiles, amphibians, and many mammals to reproduce. And when it comes to carbon capture, turf grass is our worst plant choice.
Native plants succeed at achieving the four goals!
We can also choose plants with large canopies that soften the impact of pounding rain and shade our homes from the sun and heat. Their large root systems encourage rainwater infiltration and thus hold tons of water on site after a storm event.
How cool is it to think that we can create and build ecosystems, feed our local pollinators, control runoff and flooding, and capture and remove carbon all in our own yards? There are 20 million acres of lawn in the United States. Can you imagine if everyone just took a small part of their lawn and converted it to productive native plants and purposeful space? The path to a sustainable way of life is a must and no longer a choice. Let’s embrace the new look and welcome this healthy and responsible landscape into our yards! We can change the world one yard at a time.
Adapted from:
Carol Markham, Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy