Also, lawns with compacted soil make it “hard for rainwater infiltration to happen,” he said, “which can create runoff problems.”Īdd to that the fossil fuels that are used in most mowers, plus the fertilizers that harm water life, and the toxic herbicides and pesticides that studies have shown homeowners use with less training and greater abandon than farmers - and you have what some call an “ecological disaster.” “Any habitat value is destroyed whenever it’s mowed, taking away all the flowers,” Lynch said. For one, Lynch points out that lawns are a “monoculture” - a place that doesn’t provide food and shelter for insects, especially for bees and other pollinators needed for planetary health. In Massachusetts, more than 20 percent of the land is covered in grass.Įxperts say this is a problem for several reasons.
According to a 2005 NASA estimate, the United States is home to more than 40 million acres of lawn - that’s more lawn than there is irrigated corn. “Sadly, lawn is the default of the American landscape,” said Todd Lynch, a Williamsburg-based landscape designer and owner of Ecotropy, an eco-minded landscape design studio. Lawns, though tidy and uniform (and sometimes required by neighborhoods), are increasingly known for their negative effect on the environment. This meant not going all lawn, a growing trend among eco-conscious homeowners. “We wanted to create some new habitats for wildlife and give back a little of what we took.” They built their house on developed land that was once woods, a fact that Thomson, an environmentalist and animal lover, sought to help balance with their landscape. “It was a blank slate,” said Thomson, a freelance writer and editor. When Cat Thomson and Steve McDonough moved onto their ¾-acre lot in Leeds, the landscaping consisted of dirt, dirt, and more dirt.
STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTINGĪbove, Steve McDonough and Cat Thomson enjoy the view from the front porch of their Leeds home. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTINGĬat Thomson enjoys a cup of coffee with her dog, Tito, at her home in Leeds. COURTESY OF CAT THOMPSONįlowers in the front yard of Steve McDonough and Cat Thomson's Leeds home. Pollinators, including a monarch butterfly and bees, in the wildflower meadow at Cat Thomson and Steve McDonough's home in Leeds. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTINGĪ view of Bobbie’s Meadow at the Eric Carle Museum for Picture Book Art in Amherst, one year after seeding native wildflower seeds into the existing lawn and allowing it to grow. Steve McDonough and Cat Thomson enjoy the view from the front porch of their Leeds home.Ĭat Thomson, with her dog, Tito, has a cup of coffee on the front porch of her Leeds home. STAFF PHOTO/KEVIN GUTTINGįlower in the front yard of Steve McDonough and Cat Thomson's Leeds home. Steve McDonough and Cat Thomson enjoy the view from the front porch of their Leeds home. Steve McDonough and Cat Thomson, and their dog, Tito, 4, on the front porch of their Leeds home.