The practice of maintaining a pristine lawn is often detrimental to the environment’s natural systems, animal and plant populations, human health, and beloved pets. Pesticides and fertilizers marketed for lawn care pose threats including biodiversity loss, water and air pollution, cancer, and other pollution-related diseases. Several of the grass species used for landscaping in the United States are not planted in their native habitat, which means they require much more upkeep to stay alive. For example, Kentucky Bluegrass only thrives in climates that are cool and humid and prefer soil that has sufficient drainage and fine sediment.¹ Other common grasses used on U.S. lawns include Bahia, Bent, Bermuda, Buffalo, Carpet, Centipede, Fescue, Paspalum, Rye, St. Augustine, and Zoysia.² Lawn mowers and similar equipment often rely on fossil fuels– which are non-renewable and contribute to toxic emissions. Lawn care is a huge financial burden as well and poses less benefits than consequences to our environment and wellbeing. 

Source: https://www.environmentaldesigns.com/11-simple-lawn-alternatives-to-grass-in-your-backyard/

One of the most effective ways of making an impact on unsustainable lawn maintenance can happen at the individual level– either through direct action or a call for policy reform. It is often believed that the individual does not have much influence for change, but nearly every homeowner has a lawn right on their property, which means they have power to control what care it receives. It is crucial for people to acknowledge that their actions and decisions affect the environment to some degree, and to use that information to enact solutions. According to the center for lawn care at Purdue University, homeowners should consider two paths towards making their yards more sustainable: the evolutionary approach and the revolutionary approach. On the evolutionary path, homeowners can make seemingly modest changes to their garden regimen in exchange for huge ecological benefits. Some solutions that can be with this approach include switching to organic fertilizers and non-toxic pesticides, calibrating sprinklers to use less water, and switching to renewable or manual lawn equipment. The revolutionary approach consists of replacing non-native grass with alternative groundcover, planting native vegetation to promote biodiversity, mowing less frequently, treating soil to retain more water and nutrients, and xeriscaping to reduce the need for irrigation.³ According to our class’s definition of sustainability, something is sustainable if it serves to meet the social, economic, and/or environmental needs of today without exceeding the planetary boundaries of the future. All efforts to make our lawns more sustainable should be done with systems-thinking in mind in order to make its practice as healthy, equitable, and inclusive as possible. With the implementation of things like solar-powered lawn equipment and organic fertilizers, individuals have the potential to influence changes that promote renewal, re-use, climate change mitigation, economic equity, human wellbeing, and ecological balance.⁴ 

Source: https://meangreenproducts.com/accessories/

Discussing the issues surrounding traditional lawn care with family members and neighbors can make a huge difference towards the acceptance of sustainable alternatives. Formulating acceptable lawn standards with Homeowners Associations to achieve a balance between aesthetics and environmental health could be a crucial step towards reducing pollution, habitat loss, and organism death. Acknowledging that alternative and native groundcovers will consume less water, require less mowing and weeding, and benefit local pollinators can help convince homeowners who view lawn care as a chore.⁵ Some alternatives to non-native turf grass include ornamental grasses, garden beds/borders, moss, meadows, and woodlands. These potential substitutes have benefits such as drought resistance, habitat provision, less frequent fertilizer and pesticide use, and require less maintenance and mowing.⁶ Many states, such as California and Colorado, have enacted the use of incentives to encourage homeowners to replace their grass lawns with vegetation that requires less watering. 

Rather than spending money on commercial fertilizers, individuals can use materials directly from nature to nourish their garden. For example, instead of using synthetic fertilizers that contaminate waterways and break the bank, dead leaves and yard clippings can be used to naturally fertilize the soil via decomposition. Special mowers equipped with a mulching blade instead of a traditional blade can help direct lawn trimmings back into the soil to decompose. Traditional mower blades just send lawn debris flying onto sidewalks and personal property.⁷ Some other alternatives to synthetic fertilizers include eggshells, coffee grounds, corn and bone meal, manure, and other food scraps.⁸ Its application should be planned according to rainfall, wind, and rate of outdoor exposure. Unfortunately, regardless of what fertilizer or pesticide is used, they all have some potential for contamination or ecological harm. There are definitely products that are better than others, but any type of nutrient added to soil can potentially run-off into waterways and make them eutrophic. Some pesticide products are considered slightly toxic or relatively nontoxic, but all pesticides can be hazardous to humans, animals, and the environment if the instructions on the product label are not followed properly. The applicator is legally responsible for any misuse of a pesticide, so adequate planning and education is a critical part of lawn care.⁹ Instead of using pesticides, homeowners can opt for repellents instead. These products include aromatic plants such thyme and peppermint and work by deterring unwanted organisms, not killing them.¹⁰ Homeowners can encourage the populations of important pollinators by planting wildflowers or native flowering plants. Most native bee species nest on the ground, so they rely on areas with well-drained, bare soil in order to adequately burrow themselves. Clearing a small section of bare ground around the border of your lawn can help promote nesting while shielding bees from getting hit with sprinklers. Other options include taking no action and dealing with some degree of pest damage, manually removing plants infested with pests, and by using mechanical methods like soil tilling, aeration, cutting, and digging.¹¹ 

For individuals who remain hesitant to take environmental action, it is important to spark conversation about their reasoning in order to formulate inclusive solutions for all involved. Katherine Hayhoe’s Saving Us acknowledges the importance of collective action and why every individual should hold some stake in their environment. I found her quote on our relationship between morals and action to be very interesting: “On climate change and other issues with moral implications, we tend to believe that everyone should care for the same self-evident reasons we do. If they don’t, we all too often assume they lack morals. But most people do have morals and are acting according to them; they’re just different from ours. And if we are aware of these differences, we can speak to them”.¹² Our differences in values often makes it difficult to settle on a single plan. Since lawns vary widely throughout the United States, it would not be realistic to enforce the same landscaping requirements nationwide. Efforts to make our lawns more sustainable should be centered around factors such as climate type, soil quality, and financial income in order to develop solutions that are actually beneficial to those affected. Developing landscaping standards on a neighborhood-to-neighborhood basis is important for making decisions that serve the needs of everyone involved. Hayhoe believes that our best bet for swaying public opinion and creating widespread change starts with simple dialogues about our concerns and shared values.

Source: https://www.ninemilecreek.org/getting-started-organic-lawn-care/

Our lawns can be made more environmentally friendly if there is enough campaign for change and improvement. Residents have the ability to influence change by pushing for the reform of nuisance laws, lawn ordinances, and other landscaping requirements. Converting our lawns from grasses that rely on pesticides, fertilizers, weeding, mowing, and monoculture into areas that promote biodiversity and water conservation is becoming more necessary now than ever before. The Natural Resource Defense Council’s (NRDC) senior policy analyst and water efficiency project director, Ed Osann, stated that ‘our existing lawns are going to get thirstier and their water requirements will increase’, meaning that individual action must be taken as soon as possible to make essential changes for our planet.¹³

Source: https://www.yourgreenpal.com/blog/the-12-most-common-grass-types-for-lawns

Tools for Action:

1. 9 Alternative Fertilizers + Why They Are Better Than Synthetic – Pela Earth (lomi.com)
2. A Guide to Eco-Friendly Lawn Helpers – Consumer Reports 
3. More Sustainable (and Beautiful) Alternatives to a Grass Lawn | NRDC 
4. Water Conservation Tips for Irrigating Lawns (psu.edu)
5. Lawn Pesticide Fact Sheets — Beyond Pesticides 

Sources:

Alternative Pesticides. Sustainability. [accessed 2023 Mar 26]. https://www.slc.gov/sustainability/pesticidefree-2/alternative-pesticides/#:~:text=Alternative%20insecticides%20for%20the%20yard%20and%20garden%3A%201. 

Hayhoe, Katharine. September 21, 2021. Saving Us. Atria/One Signal Publishers ⁽¹²⁾

How You Can Help Pollinators | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. FWSgov. https://www.fws.gov/initiative/pollinators/how-you-can-help.

KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS (Poa pratensis). [accessed 2023 Mar 26]. http://www.library.nd.gov/statedocs/AgDept/Kentuckybluegrass20070703.pdf#:~:text=Distribution%20and%20Habitat%3A%20Kentucky%20bluegrass%20is%20native%20to. 

Lawns are a soul-crushing timesuck and most of us would be better off without them. Chicago Tribune. https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-stop-mowing-your-lawn-20150805-story.html.

Lawn Alternatives | University of Maryland Extension. extensionumdedu. https://extension.umd.edu/resource/lawn-alternatives. 

Mulching Blade Vs Regular Blade: What’s The Difference? [accessed 2023 Mar 26]. https://www.swipegarden.com/mulching-blade-vs-regular-blade/#:~:text=You%20may%20wonder%20what%20the%20difference%20between%20mulching. 

Penn State Extension. 2016 Mar 14. Toxicity of Pesticides. Penn State Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/toxicity-of-pesticides. 

The 12 Most Common Grass Types for Lawns. wwwyourgreenpalcom. https://www.yourgreenpal.com/blog/the-12-most-common-grass-types-for-lawns. 

Polycarpou L. 2010 Jun 4. The Problem of Lawns. State of the Planet. https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2010/06/04/the-problem-of-lawns/. 

2023 Working Definition, Sustainable Solutions. Muhlenberg College ⁽⁴⁾ 

9 Alternative Fertilizers + Why They Are Better Than Synthetic. Pela Earth. https://lomi.com/blogs/news/alternative-fertilizer#:~:text=9%20alternatives%20to%20fertilizers%20that%20will%20enrich%20your. 

Talbot M. 2016 Sep 30. More Sustainable (and Beautiful) Alternatives to a Grass Lawn. NRDC. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/more-sustainable-and-beautiful-alternatives-grass-lawn.