Commercial Alternatives

The business sector may be one of the most important groups who can affect change on a large scale. Small businesses in particular have a unique opportunity to buck the trend of simply going along with the most popular lawn care solutions. Here in the Pacific Northwest there are many companies who supply a more sustainable and environmentally sound set of solutions to begin a greater sea-change with regard to how businesses think about their lawn care.

There are many companies who offer more environmentally conscious service than their competitors, and the difference can be staggering. One such business is Willamette Landscape Services, Inc. Their website (Willamette Landscape) outlines many of their practices which take an aggressive approach toward natural and manual weed control, recycling, and preventative measures against fertilizer leaching and spoiling the land.

I’ve already approached my employer about shopping around for a thoughtful groundskeeping service for our warehouse and office distribution depots in Salem and Eugene--tax write-offs can be an incentive--and this has prompted a change in practice already. Those of us in a position to make these kinds of suggestions either to our employers or to other local businesses should take this opportunity to shop around for more responsible commercial services.

Here are a few other local businesses who specialize in this type of lawn care:
Pacific Landscape Management
Oregon Sustainable Landscape

Clean Air Lawn Care

Minimal Maintenance, Eco-Friendly, Creative Lawn Alternatives

Sometimes an easier solution is a better solution. There are a number of ways to build and maintain a lawn, but if given the choice or opportunity to start from scratch, there are multiple methods of developing one’s own lawn that are both easy and sustainable.

This article (houzz - 7 Low-Maintenance Lawn Care Alternatives) outlines seven alternatives to the traditional grass lawn. While the aim of its points is to present ideas which are easier than maintaining traditional grass lawns, the end result is using far less water by volume, and far fewer mowings. Mowing with the average, gas-powered consumer lawnmower is one of the most damaging aspects of lawn maintenance, so if one can diminish the number of times a lawn needs to be mowed, perhaps the savings can be passed onto replacing the gas mower with a more economical solution like a manual mower.

Pictured: a non gas-powered lawn mowing solution

The main takeaway here is that creating and maintaining an economically-friendly lawn doesn’t necessarily have to be a lot of hard work. There are many different ways to behave and live more sustainably; hopefully, options like these can tap into a busy demographic who may be afraid that embracing sustainability equates to personal hassle. 

The Psychology of Landscaping and Lawn-Care

Understanding why individuals choose to engage in landscaping and lawn-care in the first place might help to direct attention and efforts when attempting to build a campaign against the practice. An important study on this specific topic was put forth by AR Carrico, which controlled for age, education, and property values. His findings suggested that fertilizer use was associated with individual concerns over one’s property value, reputation, lawn appearance, social pressures as well as recreational use of the lawn by children and pets. Concerns such as environmental damage and even physical exposure to chemicals were unrelated to fertilizer use. These findings speak to what truly motivates individuals to pursue and maintain a lawn. The social pressures that shape lawn-care decisions, pressures that appear to be independent of personal, aesthetic, and economic considerations but that are as powerful as those concerns. This study is not the first to make this conclusion. These results highlight the complex assemblage of social, economic, political, and ecological factors that converge to influence lawn care practices. Anybody hoping to change the view of lawn owners needs to understand that lawns are not maintained for their environmental benefits, but as an avenue for engaging with one’s neighbors, for fulfilling expectations of what it means to be a positive member of a community, and to communicate a willingness to cooperate in creating and maintaining a shared space. Only by understanding the social implications of landscaping and lawn-care, can a truly successful marketing campaign can be started.

For anyone interested in digging deeper into this topic a link is provided below.

http://eab.sagepub.com/content/early/2012/05/10/0013916511434637.abstract

Economic Impact of Landscaping and Lawncare on US Latinos

While searching the net for articles relating to the economic impact of lawn care, this interesting article came up. It appears that in the US the lawn care industry is a decent stepping stone for first generation Latino immigrants into the US. The share of Latino employment in the Landscape and Lawn Care Services Industry amounts to 2.3 percent of total Latino employment. This is 2.6 times  higher than the national average and 3.4 times higher than the share of total employment that the Landscape and Lawn Care Services Industry represents for whites.

The Landscape and Lawn Care Services Industry is very important for first - generation Latinos. Nationally, the percentage of Latino workers who are foreign - born is close to 55percent. That percentage is over 80 percent in the Landscape and Lawn Care Services Industry. By comparison, the proportion of foreign - born whites and African Americans in the Landscape and Lawn Care Services Industry is lower than in other industries.

Who is actually performing lawn care is part of the overall fabric of issues that are related to lawn care, and therefore it is interesting subject.

https://latinostudies.nd.edu/assets/95362/original/ushccnational_report_novermber_21_2011_final.pdf 

Where's the Sense in that?

Water conservation is an issue you have likely heard, read, or even talked about as it is a topic that exists at a global level. Water is used in a myriad of ways that affect us all on an individual level, the city we live in on a local level, and on a much bigger global scale.

Landscaping and lawn care is an industry that accounts for a staggering amount of water consumption, "Nationwide, landscape irrigation is estimated to account for nearly one-third of all residential water use, totaling nearly 9 billion gallons per day" (https://www3.epa.gov). We can help conserve water resources by learning how much water we use and how we can use that water in more sustainable ways, particularly in regards to lawn care. Inefficient water use in land care causes more harm to soil quality and the environment in many ways. Understanding proper lawn care techniques and practices is one the best steps we can take to become proactive in taking care of the land we live on.

WaterSense is a program the EPA began in 2006 and has "helped consumers save a cumulative 1.1 trillion gallons of water and more than $21.7 billion in water and energy bills." Their website has a host of tools you can use to see how much you know, calculate your use, learn how to take care of you lawn sustainably, and much more access. Though the WaterSense program, you can find certified contractors that are trained in sustainable water practices and can help you find ways to reduce water use and improve the health of your lawn. Check out their website for more information and access.

What a Difference a Difference Can Make

As humans our power to consume resources is growing exponentially as our global population increases.  Because of this it is important to spread awareness about sustainable approaches to industries that are consuming at a faster rate than our environment can replenish these resources.  While we have seen the green-building initiatives gain traction in the last decade, we still have a long way to go.  Lawn care and maintenance might seem like an industry where the sustainability issue is irrelevant, but just because the plants are green does not mean that the methods used to achieve our desired lawn aesthetic do anything at all to conserve or maintain important resources.  The basic economics of lawn care show that while around $45 billion is spent annually in the US to manicure and maintain lawns, about another $100 billion in damage is caused by invasive species.  Additionally, the nurseries that market and sell these aggressive and harmful plants are not liable for any of the damages.

If this seems counter-intuitive it’s because it is and certainly not sustainable.  It seems odd that an industry that generates this much revenue from lawn care also incurs expenses for damage more than twice the maintenance cost.  While certain states like New Hampshire do have legislation regarding invasive species, many do not.  While this could change at some point in the future, for now the government has little say in the matter and therefore it is up to us to spread awareness and do our part.  Check out this website to see what a difference a difference can make and think about adopting some of these habits as your own.