One person’s lawn won’t change the world. But if we can normalize different ways to take care of our homes, it adds up, very quickly.
The best lawn is no lawn at all. The intentionally wasteful nature of a front lawn, multiplied by hundreds of millions of lawns, really adds up.
If you’re going to stick with grass, here are some simple things you can do (and talk about) that will make a bit of a difference, and even more when your whole block gets on board:
Quick Win:
Keeping your lawn a bit taller in the ideal range of 2.5 to 3 inches will create a healthier lawn that needs less water and treatments. To learn more about the benefits of a taller lawn, see this review of meta-data from Europe and North America.
Easy and direct:
Get rid of your gas lawn mower. It uses the most polluting sort of engine, it’s loud and it burns fossil fuels.
You could switch to a manual reel push mower. The reel push mower emits no pollution, is better for the health of your lawn, and is incredibly quiet. You’ll appreciate their pleasant “snip-snip-snip” sound.
Reel push mowers cut each blade of grass like a pair of scissors, while gas mowers tear and shred at the grass. This difference leads to grass that is healthier, less prone to disease, and easier to maintain. You can read more about the benefits of a reel mower in this article from The Spruce.
If you’ve got a bigger yard, it’s time for an electric mower. The options outlined in this article may suit your needs better.