Spring is just around the corner (a very long corner for those of us who live in the north.)  Americans are very concerned about their lawns.  Each year we spend millions of dollars on fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals and services to make sure that our yards are greener than the neighbors.   There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have a nice lawn, but its important that we consider the effect that our lawn care efforts have on the environment.

Apparently, there was enough concern about this and our practices had a significant enough impact to warrant special consideration.  In 2002, the National Lawns and Environment Initiation was founded.  The goal of this initiative is to encourage environmentally responsible lawn care and landscaping practices in residential design and maintenance.  The initiative is run by a committee of governmental and non-governmental organizations including the EPA, USDA, the National Gardening Association, and the University of Florida.

The initiative has develop several useful resources for home owners and landscape professionals.  Particularly useful is the list of 10 Guiding Principles for Responsible Lawn Care and Landscaping.   I think this guide is the best place to start if you want to learn about some things you can do to minimize the impact your lawn care practices have on the environment.   The first guideline on the list is probably the most important.  The #1 guideline is to spend the time to learn about your lawn.  If you want to improve your practices to minimize their environmental impact you have to first understand the environment.

Take a walk around your yard.  Look carefully at the types of plants and wildlife inhabit your outdoor living space.  Try to identify all of the plants and do some simple online research to learn as much as you can about them.  Do the same for the wildlife that inhabits your yard.  Learn about what types of habitats the various creatures that live in your yard like.  All of these things will create a good foundation of knowledge that will help you make decisions about yard care that are both effective and not harmful to your environment.   I think it also makes sense to take a walk through the woods or other unimproved habitat closest your house.  Look around and observe the types of plants and animals that live in this natural environment.  Carefully analysis the habitat.  This information will help you create a lawn and landscape plan the fits into the natural environment.

Once you spent the time to learn about your yard go back to the guidelines and use them to help you prepare a plan for caring for your yard.  If you use a lawn care service make sure to discuss your plan with the company you use.  In many places there are lawn care and landscaping companies that specialize in environmentally friendly lawn care.  Seattle, San Francisco, and many of the other larger cities on the west coast have a number of companies that specialize in green lawn care.