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CURRENT NEWS

Dec 09 2021

Treehugger

Sustainable Fencing Ideas That’ll Make You Want to Ditch Man-Made Fences in Your Garden

By Elizabeth Waddington Photo: Jacky Parker , Getty Images

There is a common saying that good fences make good neighbors. Unfortunately, all too often, fences are things that divide us and diminish the environment, rather than improving things and bringing people together.

Dec 03 2021

The New York Times

Meet an Ecologist Who Works for God (and Against Lawns)

By Cara Buckley Photo: Karsten Moran

If Bill Jacobs were a petty man, or a less religious one, he might look through the thicket of flowers, bushes and brambles that encircle his home and see enemies all around. For to the…

Oct 25 2021

The New York Times

The First Thing We Do, Let’s Kill All the Leaf Blowers

By Margaret Renkl Photo: Tom Williams/Roll Call/Getty Images

Into these perfect October afternoons, when light gleams on the red dogwood berries and the blue arrowwood berries and the purple beautyberries; on the last of the many-colored zinnias and the last of the yellow…

Oct 12 2021

The Washington Post

California set to become first state to ban gasoline-powered lawn equipment

By Tik Root Photo: Cameron Carnes for The Washington Post

California is set to become the first state in the country to phase out gas-powered lawn equipment. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a bill Saturday that would require new small off-road engines (SOREs), used primarily…

Oct 09 2021

Los Angeles Times

California moves toward ban on gas lawn mowers and leaf blowers

By Phil Willon

The law requires all newly sold small-motor equipment primarily used for landscaping to be zero-emission — essentially to be battery-operated or plug-in — by that target date or as soon as the California Air Resources…

Sep 24 2021

Friends of the Earth

The human cost of a perfect lawn

By Valeria Paredes

Every year, 80 million pounds of pesticides are used on U.S. lawns to maintain attractive, lush greenery. In many cities across the country, Latinx immigrant workers are the primary labor force responsible for lawn care.…

Aug 25 2021

Lawn and Landscape

Time for a charge

By Kim Lux

Landscape professionals like Wesley Hack are investing more and more into battery-powered equipment and aren’t turning back.

Jul 10 2021

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Yards with less grass and more plants help fight climate change

By Tik Root Photo: Dreamstime / MCT

Summer is officially here. For many Americans, that means blankets of grassy green for kids to play in. There are an estimated 40 million to 50 million acres of lawn in the continental United States…

Jun 30 2021

The Washington Post

Ditching grass could help your backyard thrive

By Tik Root Photo: Michael Parkin , The Washington Post

Summer is officially here. For many Americans, that means blankets of grassy green for kids to play in, or families to picnic on.

Jun 30 2021

The Washington Post

Lawn care is going electric. And the revolution is here to stay

By Tik Root Photo: Cameron Carnes

It was a few minutes past 6 a.m., and the sun had already started to boil the muggy Alabama air. Matt Harrison, 38, watched as his colleague backed the public works pickup truck into a…

May 26 2021

QUIET OCEAN D.C.

Why Eliminating Dirty Equipment Is an Important Environmental-Justice Measure

A teacher at a school in a prosperous part of Washington D.C., writing from his official school email account and saying that he was a mentor for the school’s future-entrepreneurs program, wrote with two concerns…

May 22 2021

Bloomberg Opinion

The Next Electric Frontier Is Your Backyard

By Brooke Sutherland Photo: Three Lions/Getty Images

In the rush to swap gas for batteries on everything from cars and delivery trucks to boats and golf carts, lawn mowers don't get much attention. But the traditional gas-powered versions that many people will soon use to get their yards ready for summer can…

KEY RESOURCES

234birds.org

Healthy Landscapes, Healthy Birds, Healthy Us

07/21/21

North America has lost close to 3 billion birds since the 1970s, almost a third of the entire bird population. It is not just rare or endangered birds that we are losing, our familiar backyard…

Promoting toxic-free lawns and landscapes for the health of people, their pets, and the planet

05/17/21

Isaac Mizrahi Goes Organic: Kicks the Lawn Chemical Habit

Smart Policies for a Changing Climate (Adaptation, Mitigation, and Resilient Design)

08/05/20

Climate change is a threat to people and the ecosystem services on which we depend. Extreme weather events are on the rise. Flooding, drought, and wildfires are more frequent and more severe.

Gardening in a Warming World

08/05/20

Gardeners are keen observers of what is required to grow healthy plants of all types and sizes. New strategies and solutions to the problems presented by cultivating living things are often contemplative acts.

Climate Change in Your Own Backyard

08/05/20

Our planet is in trouble, but you can help by making changes in your garden.

Gardening for Climate Change

08/05/20

For millions of Americans, gardening is much more than a hobby—it is a passion. Unfortunately, climate change is threatening the gardening experience across the country.

5 Ways Landscape Architects Can Influence Climate Change

08/05/20

Here are 5 ways landscape architects can influence climate change through sustainable measures.

Climate-Wise Landscaping

08/05/20

Practical Solutions for a Sustainable Future.

Climate Change in Coastal Communities

08/05/20

What are the potential impacts of climate change to estuaries and coastal areas?

Vegetable Gardening For Beginners

03/25/20

Ready to jump into gardening? It can be daunting at first, but gardening is an incredibly rewarding hobby to get into. Our Vegetable Gardening Guide for Beginners will help you to plan and grow your…

Your Yard Is a Stealthy Fossil Fuel Guzzler — Give It a Climate Makeover

03/22/19

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MORE NEWS

The Optimist Daily

Support pollinators this spring with flower ‘billboards’

04/29/21

We at The Optimist Daily are always looking for ways to help our pollinator friends. If you are looking to plant a pollinator-friendly garden this spring, then a new study led by Jaret Daniels and Elizabeth…

WBUR

Interested In Eco-Friendly Gardening? Here’s What You Should Know

By Lisa Mullins and Hannah Chanatry Photo: Jesse Costa 04/23/21

Environmentally-friendly gardening, once considered on the fringe, has surged in interest in the pandemic, according to Mark Richardson, director of horticulture for the Tower Hill Botanic Garden in Boylston. Richardson sees the trend in the…

Yale Climate Connections

How to prepare your coastal property for sea-level rise and weather extremes

By Jan Ellen Spiegel Photo: Ann Tihansky , USGS 04/22/21

People who live along the Atlantic seaboard are accustomed to dealing with environmental extremes: salt spray that can kill just about anything green; relentless wind that whips vegetation into Leaning Tower of Pisa shapes; sand,…

Treehugger

Central Park May Soon Be Free of Pesticides

By Mary Jo DiLonardo Photo: Johner Images / Getty Images 04/14/21

Kids and pets will soon be able to play in the grass at some of the country’s largest parks without being exposed to pesticides. Yogurt company Stonyfield Organic is continuing a major initiative to convert…

Treehugger

Planting Ideas for Garden Paths and Walkways

By Elizabeth Waddington Photo: Johner Images / Getty Images 04/14/21

Those who are interested in permaculture and regenerative gardening may be well aware of the benefits — both local and global — of maximizing photosynthesis in a garden. The more plants we include in our…

Treehugger

Why We Should Embrace Regenerative Gardening

By Elizabeth Waddington Photo: ViktorCap / Getty Images 04/12/21

Over the last decade or so, you may have heard a lot about regenerative farming or regenerative agriculture. But you may not realize you can implement the ideas it espouses in your own garden. If…

National Geographic

Insects are vanishing at an alarming rate—but we can save them

By Christine Peterson Photo: David Liittschwager/National Geographic 01/17/21

Insects aren’t just pests. They’re crucial for the planet and our food supply, and scientists say we can all pitch in to help.

sun sentinel

Cities give green light for pesticide-free parks

By Scott Luxor Photo by Scott Luxor 07/16/20

Gary Petonke and the Wilton Manors-based Equality Garden Club have a vision for greening public lands in Broward County cities. It’s called the Green Initiative Project. The EGC, started in 2010 by five devoted gardeners,…

hawaii tribune herald

Tropical Gardening: Healing gardens to create peace of mind

By Norman Bezona 07/11/20

Last year, folks were complaining about wet weather in West Hawaii and too little rain in East Hawaii. Now, West Hawaii is getting much more rain than usual. Even the haole koa and kiawe are…

capradio

Sacramento Region Plans To Store Water Underground As A Climate Change Adaptation Strategy

By Ezra David Romero Photo by Kari Bluff 07/07/20

The Sacramento region is preparing for the long term impacts of the climate crisis when it comes to water supply. Central to the plan is a groundwater storage program with two to three times the…

the architect's newspaper

Plant-wrapped towers, botanical gardens anchor Foster + Partners’ One Beverly Hills

By Matt Hickman 07/07/20

Alagem Capital Group, in partnership with London-based real estate investor Cain International, has revealed the Foster + Partners-designed master plan for a 17.5-acre mixed-use development that will pack a massive amount of landscaping into the…

Avenuemagazine

Meet the Hamptons Landscape Designer Detoxing Lawns and Gardens

By Nancy Kane Photo by Allan Pollok-Morris 05/26/20

When a landscape designer on a mission to save the Earth met a pair of local filmmakers who shared her vision, it was a match made in compost. East Hampton–based landscape designer Edwina von Gal…

the New York Times

America’s Killer Lawns

By Margaret Renkl Photo by William DeShazer 05/18/20

One day last fall, deep in the middle of a devastating drought, I was walking the dog when a van bearing the logo of a mosquito-control company blew past me and parked in front of…

ecological landscape alliance

Environmental Benefits of Organic Lawns

By Mary Travaglini Photo by Georgiev Deyan 03/16/20

Sometimes people ask, “Aren’t lawns bad for the environment?” Turns out that’s not true, especially if the lawns are organic and have healthy soils. Here are some of the benefits of an organic lawn with healthy…

curbed

In age of climate change, can our lawns be more than landscaping?

By Patrick Sisson Photo by Getty Images 05/01/19

If Americans want to reduce their environmental footprints, one of the first steps may be reexamining what’s in their backyards. The lawn-industrial complex, and our country’s obsession over manicured carpets of green, has birthed a…