On the morning of Jan. 8, local literary scholar, Judith Fetterley delivered an informative lecture on the environmental issues associated with lawns and possible eco-friendly alternatives to replace the abundant sprawl of cookie-cutter grass yards throughout the United States. Fetterley brings a longstanding interest in gardening to her research. She shared her wisdom on the best methods for transforming one’s garden in both aesthetically pleasing and environmentally friendly ways. In addition to creating her bi-weekly newsletter, “Out in the Garden,” Fetterley works as an Extension Master Gardener at the Albany County Cornell Cooperative. She is also a Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus at the University of Albany (SUNY) as well as the former owner of Perennial Wisdom, a consultation service for garden design.
As she outlined the adverse environmental effects of the average American lawn, Fetterley explained what she calls “The case against lawns.” Fetterly identified the impact of lawn, that “[they] do damage to our ecosystems with pollution and excess water usage.”
Identifying another cause of pollution, Fetterley shares that “the carbon emission of lawnmowers is eleven times more than a new car, and it far exceeds the value of the lawn in sequestering carbon.” Not only do lawnmowers contribute large amounts of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, but “17 million gallons of gas are spilled per year by homeowners dealing with lawnmowers,” added Fetterly. The chemicals used to maintain the appearance of these lawns also contributes to the harm they do to the ecosystem. She identified fertilizer used on lawns as a central problem because “it runs off into our sewers, and as we know ultimately into our waterways, with disastrous consequences for aquatic ecosystems.” The harmful impacts of fertilizers on the environment have been known for some time, but Fetterley stated that the “EPA estimates that 3 million tons of fertilizer are used on the home lawn per year.”
Fetterley also included how “lawns are an ecological dead zone as far as pollinators, and the caterpillars that produce some of them are concerned.” In addition to the harm lawnmowers do by releasing pollutants into the air, they also destroy plants and deprive pollinators from sustenance. All of this harm is done with the goal of maintaining a perfect looking front yard. This “monoculture ideal,” Fetterley shares, has introduced a host of other issues to the environment, such as exasperating the impacts that a pest can have when only one crop species exists within an area.
Despite their drawbacks, Fetterley recognizes that “lawns can be walked on, slept on, run over” and “more importantly, lawns are the definition of being American.” Although, ironically, the traditional grass you imagine covering the lawns of American homes is not American at all. It is commonly non-native European turfgrass, shared Fetterley. In order to re-shape this standard, Fetterley delved into her main point: “Don’t get rid of all your lawn, but shrink the amount of your space that you devote to what we call a lawn.”
Fetterley suggests that a good place to start is by refraining from mowing your front yard. Rarely used for play or grilling, the front yard serves solely as a display of status to neighbors and passersby. Fetterley believes that you can make impactful changes without majorly disrupting your current yard. She captures this idea in her phrase: “cutting the corner, hedging the edge, and connecting the dots.” Cutting the corner can be done “if you have a coroner where a lawn meets the street, or where the lawn meets the neighboring property through “building a little corner garden you can experiment with and not disturb the primary area of turf grass.” This provides less space for grass to grow, but the lawn will still maintain its overall manicured look. In order to follow the hedging the edge approach, you can plant “a pollinator friendly hedgerow along the back and side of the property,” and Fetterley adds that “there’s a lot of wonderful pollinator friendly plants that make a great hedge: witch hazel, hydrangeas, raspberry, cherries, willows, birches and box elders.” The third method involves Fetterley’s commitment to “dumping the brown or black mulch for the green mulch [plant cover]” by connecting the dots, or trees, in your lawn and “creating a garden underneath or between these trees.”
More drastic options for transforming your yard include turning your lawn into a meadow, vegetable garden or even a homegrown national park. No matter what route you choose for your journey, Fetterley encourages you to take time to properly plan out the small details behind your new lawn including what plants you want to incorporate, how they should be planted and how to maintain them once in the ground.
To help with this feat, Fetterley recommends numerous books and websites that are dedicated to helping new people who are new to lawn renovation. Notably, the “Wild One” website has ample experience in “commissioning different garden designers in different parts of the country to create blueprints for native front yard gardens” and the Native Plant Finder website allows you to “plug in your zip code and find all the plants that are the best pollinators for your region in the list and number of pollinators they support.”
In her lecture, Fetterley included an anecdote from her own experience creating a healthy green space. She took on the project of establishing a garden of native plants for the Town Hall in Bethlehem, New York. She hopes this garden can successfully benefit the environment and prove that native plants too can bear an aesthetic appearance. In the creation of this space, Fetterley reveals how her “cues for care” allowed her to make the plant options seem intentional such as incorporating elements like benches, edging and cohesive framework. Fetterley reminded the audience that “there are all different ways to let people know that this is an intentional act, and not just the fact that you have forgotten to mow a part of your lawn.”
To wrap up her talk, Fetterley shared additional ways to help the environment for those who can’t part with their grass lawns. Alternatives to transitional turfgrass include low mow lawns, which can help limit lawn mower pollution and harm to biodiversity. Fetterley’s tip for those who refuse to make any significant change to their lawn is to improve their methods of lawn maintenance, so they can help the environment by keeping their pre-existing lawn healthier. This includes limiting the amount you mow your lawn, which is “the only way the grass is going to be strong enough to keep out the weeds,” and limiting this will reduce the need for use of pesticides and herbicides. Another proposed method is to water the lawn in the early morning to prevent water waste and maximize the impacts of watering your lawn.
Fetterley brings a majorly overlooked environmental issue to light and illuminates many feasible solutions to lawn maintenance. Her talk was a part of Hamilton’s Arboretum Speaker series, and attending her talk and others like this one is a wonderful way to learn about simple and effective ways to reduce your own environmental impact and set an example for others. The next event is scheduled to take place on Friday, March 7, and more details on what this speaker will cover will be released closer to the date.