Why you should kill your lawn
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Why are grassy lawns harmful to the environment?
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You're listening to Life Kit from NPR. Hey, it's Mariel. I grew up in a suburb of New York City, and our neighborhood was the definition of post-war development. Lots of houses in the same style, evenly spaced, with bright green manicured lawns. And the lawns were good to us.
What alternatives to lawns can reduce environmental impact?
My brother and I, we played barefoot in the sprinklers. We drove around in our little electric red Jeep. We tossed the ball to our dog, who was big and blonde and full of energy. What I'm saying is, grassy lawns, they have their appeal.
But the reality is that we do, let's be honest, have a lot more lawn than we actually use. A lot of it is basically just kind of like for the look, right? It's kind of like aesthetic.
This is Celia Yopi-Schepsen, a science reporter at Harvest Public Media and the host of their environmental podcast, Up From Dust.
If you add up all this manicured grass turf that we've got in the U.S. at this point, it actually adds up to an area that's bigger than the state of Georgia.
Yeah, it's a lot of lawn. And it's a problem because the things we do to keep these lawns tidy and green tax our environment. We put down fertilizer and weed killer. We use our drinking water supplies to run sprinklers. We burn fossil fuels in our lawnmowers. What if we did things differently? NPR is dedicating this week to stories and conversations about how communities are moving forward on climate solutions despite the political roadblocks, especially at the federal level. One way people are doing that is by replacing their lawns with native plants. Because if you grow plants that are native to your area, you're not going to have to water them very often, except during long, dry spells.
And you certainly are not going to have to fertilize them, and you're obviously not going to be running a mower over gorgeous flowers. Plus, you'll be helping the wildlife. And we know wildlife in our country does need help. North America has lost a quarter of its birds. The U.S. has lost like an estimated one-fifth of its butterflies at this point. So you can do a solid for the environment by ditching even just some of your lawn and replacing it with a wildlife-friendly garden.
The good news is you don't have to ditch your whole lawn to make a difference.
How can I start a native plant garden?
In fact, the experts recommend that you start small. That's actually what my dad did in the yard of the house I grew up in. He started a native plant garden along the fence, and it is the best part of the space, with its fluttering butterflies and massive sunflower stalks that reach toward the sky. On this episode of Life Kit, how to help the planet by starting a native plant garden. Celia is going to walk us through how to actually kill that patch of grass, where to find plants, and what to expect as your garden grows.
Celia, can we walk through some of the fears or reservations that folks might have around this? I feel like a common one is what are the neighbors going to think, right, if I replace my manicured front lawn with a patch of wildflowers?
Those are really legit questions, right? I mean, first of all, lawn culture is real. Like, we love a tidy green lawn. And I feel like for a lot of us, lawns feel like a safe way to keep property values up in our neighborhoods, right? Like, it's something, it's a look that we trust. But on the flip side, your neighbors may be like totally into attracting wildlife and like they may see your gardens and love it. Someone who knows a lot about this is Paula Diaz. She is a master gardener in Kansas City. She helps people turn their yards into wildlife spaces by adding native plant gardens.
One of my neighbors, we were just talking, and she says, your yard is so full of life.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why are grassy lawns harmful to the environment?
0:00–0:45
2
What alternatives to lawns can reduce environmental impact?
0:45–2:47
3
How can I start a native plant garden?
2:47–4:31
4
What should I consider before replacing my lawn?
4:31–6:00
5
How do I kill grass to make space for my garden?
6:00–7:29
6
What are the best practices for selecting native plants?
7:29–8:38
7
How can I save money while creating a native garden?
8:38–9:27
8
What maintenance is required for a native plant garden?
9:27–20:55