COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS From Lawns to Productive Landscapes
How might Concordians begin to think differently about their lawns—that is, to see them as part of the broader landscape and contributing to human and ecological health? How can lawns be part of the local food movement?
“Lawns use more equipment, labor, fuel, and agricultural toxins than industrial farming, making lawns the largest agricultural sector in the United States.” (Flores)
Historically, grass was absolutely fundamental to Concord’s food system; it provided the food for the cattle upon which Concordians’ lives and livelihoods depended (Donahue 1999, 116). These native and English grasses were the foundation of the mixed-husbandry system employed by the early settlers up through the mid-nineteenth century (116). Today, most grasses on residential properties are lawns that are recreational and ornamental, but tend to be an energy and resource burden, when they could serve as a land resource. These residential parcels also tend to fragment the landscape, reducing wildlife movement and making it difficult for threatened and endangered species to regain a foothold.
“Any plan for Concord must address the fragmentation problem in the town.” —Richard Forman, Landscape Mosaics
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Simple management strategies can turn a typical lawn into a multi-functional, ecologically-diverse, productive ecosystem.
Lawn, or turf grasses, is effectively a monoculture crop that supports very little wildlife, provides very few ecosystem services, requires frequent mechanized mowing, and often requires chemicals and fertilizers. In fact, “lawns use more equipment, labor, fuel, and agricultural toxins than industrial farming, making lawns the largest agricultural sector in the United States” (Flores).
A landowner need not transform his or her entire lawn: “a small lawn, incorporated into a whole-system design, helps provide unity and invites participation in the landscape” (Flores). Transforming lawns into productive ecosystems can have other social and environmental benefits, such as increased food production, pollinator habitat, shade, carbon sequestration, outdoor gathering areas, and wildlife corridors.
In addition to environmental impacts, lawns are expensive to maintain. “Today fifty-eight million Americans spend approximately thirty billion dollars every year to maintain more than twenty-three million acres of lawn” (Flores). According to a National Gardening Association study, Americans spent $45 billion to hire professional lawn and landscape services in 2006 (“Garden Market Research”). Concordians spend a great deal of time and resources maintaining their lawns and the ornamental shrubs that adorn them.
According to the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), which has adapted conservation strategies for farmland to fit the backyard scale, landowners might employ strategies such as planting trees, creating wildlife habitat, digging backyard ponds, managing nutrients, terracing, employing water conservation strategies, maintaining wetlands, composting, mulching, and managing pests (NRCS, 4-5). Approaches that increase nutrient cycling and efficiency, create habitat, and conserve water can all save the landowner time and money, while creating a more resilient, multifunctional landscape.
Concord, Massachusetts