"Weird Eco Habits" Contest Finalist: Urban Naturalization
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 11.29.05
Most TreeHuggers might not think what Terry Dube does is weird. The city inspectors where he lives, however, definitely did. You see, Terry's "weird" eco habit is his refusal to mow his lawn. For this, he had to stand up against local bylaws that deemed his lawn an "unkempt" property. Terry went to great lengths to make sure his lawn was more than just overgrown grass. By randomly planting "a few indigenous shrubs, small trees, grasses, flowers and other plants to give the tall grasses 'balance'," Terry has turned his lawn into a true habitat for native plants and animals. Terry's stand against unnecessarily manicured lawns also has the obvious benefits of saving energy - be it gasoline or manpower. After lobbying city hall, Terry's lawn is now no longer an "unmowed lawn", but rather a "natural space".
All this week, TreeHugger is highlighting finalists for our "Weird Eco Habits" contest sponsored by Greenloop. Make sure to vote for your favorite "weird" habit starting this Friday.
Any pictures of Terry's lawn?
I did the same thing and got kicked out of my rented apartment just a few months ago. The neighbors loved my little "wildlife habitat", but the landlord didn't. And when I moved out, the landlord had all of the vegetation in the yard leveled - the yard is now completely dead. Yay for crazy rich people!
If you do decide to forgo the mainstream monoculture buzzcut grass look, check out the National Wildlife Federation's Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program. For a donation, you can get an official looking certificate and a metal sign for your yard, to let your neighbors and local officials that the natural look is on purpose, and is providing food, water, and shelter for birds, butterflies, and other less popular wildlife. Try to get an article printed about your pro-nature activities in the local newspaper, and you'll have lots of support, especially if you offer to help others start their own environmentally friendly yards. I also had a small chalkboard hanging on the side of the house with "recent wildlife sightings" listed for neighbors to see. (Here's the page with my no-longer-in-existance habitat on the NWF's website.)
But before you do any of this, check with your landlord, to make sure he or she isn't anti wildlife...
To bad my dad won't do this, the rabbits would love it. And we don't have to worry about laws (middle of nowhere).
Oh, yeah, one more comment...
Isn't it interesting that our society has come to think of perfectly healthy grass that has grown to it's normal height as being "overgrown"? Can you imagine if this same illogic were applied to humans? "I'm sorry madam, but you are taller than 3 feet, and we're going to have to insist that you chop your head and torso off."