Global biodiversity is in rapid decline, mainly due to our urban lifestyle, which is replacing rich natural ecosystems with biologically impoverished urban areas. Our standard lawns, symbols of these urbanized environments, contribute little to local biodiversity.
Against the backdrop of the climate and biodiversity crises, the David Suzuki Foundation, Dark Matter Labs and Nouveaux Voisins partnered to design a campaign to rethink the role of lawns in cities, one lawn at a time. In April 2024, they officially launched the LawnShare campaign and its Franch-language equivalent Partage ta pelouse. These initiatives are part of a national effort to reimagine traditional lawns as healthy habitats for bees, butterflies and other forms of wildlife.
Why Transform Traditional Lawns?
The « LawnShare” campaign proposes to rethink these green spaces as potential areas for biodiversity. Modifying lawns to make them more welcoming to native flora and fauna can significantly contribute to carbon sequestration, the creation of cooler microclimates, and a general improvement in our mental health through more direct contact with nature. This transformation can also strengthen the resilience of our habitats and encourage a new way of cohabiting with living beings. By integrating biodiversity into our cities, we offer not only refuges for various species, but also a means of engaging citizens in interacting in a more ecological and sustainable way with their environment.
Lawns play an important role in outdoor recreation, but they also consume a lot of resources and represent a simplified ecosystem. In the United States, lawn watering accounts for nearly a third of residential water consumption, and homeowners apply over 70 million pounds of pesticides annually – up to ten times more per acre than in agriculture. These practices contribute to the decline of native bee species, with nearly one in four endangered in North America. In addition, frequent mowing encourages pest invasions. On the other hand, transforming a small fraction of lawns into natural vegetation can help conserve insects, reduce maintenance costs by 36% thanks to reduced mowing frequency, and significantly reduce overall costs by replacing lawns with natural grasslands.
The campaign also includes a mapping approach to identify lawns in Canadian municipalities, highlighting potential areas for transformation.
Une boîte à outils
To support this transformation, the campaign provides a simple toolkit, suitable for novices and experts alike, to reduce impact on water, air and soil while enriching biodiversity. Here’s a summary. Consult the complete toolbox for more information.
Step 1: Think of Your Property as Part of an Ecosystem
Transforming your lawn into a living ecosystem starts with recognizing your land as an integral part of a larger ecological system. By regenerating a section, you promote biodiversity, improve water management and create corridors for local wildlife. To maximize this impact, it’s crucial to learn about the ecology of your area, the species present and current environmental initiatives. This facilitates the integration of local ecological dynamics and encourages collaboration with other stakeholders working for biodiversity. You’re part of a collective effort to create a diverse habitat.
Step 2: Identify the Area of Lawn You Wish to Regenerate
The process of transforming your lawn starts with thinking about your needs and selecting the most appropriate areas to convert, based on your resources and desires. Even a small area can have a significant impact on biodiversity, as every square meter counts in helping pollinators. It’s crucial to understand the current use of your lawn and decide which areas you want to retain for specific activities, such as children’s play or pets. Planning includes identifying potential areas to transform, assessing challenges such as weeds and visualizing the new layout. Including those around you in the project can also enrich the experience, allowing for a gradual transition to a more natural lawn and respecting everyone’s concerns.
Step 3: Giving Your Project a Direction
Creating a habitat for biodiversity means choosing a type of ecosystem suited to your desires and the environmental conditions of your land, whether it’s a meadow or a forest. A meadow, from 1 m² (10 ft²) upwards, is a virtually self-sufficient system rich in perennials and grasses, requiring little maintenance and offering significant advantages for biodiversity and water management. A forest, from 10 m² (100 sq. ft.) upwards, creates a complex, living ecosystem that provides freshness, captures carbon and promotes a high level of biological diversity, while also requiring little maintenance thanks to a natural balance that enriches the soil and reduces disease and infestation. Choosing the right type of vegetation requires an analysis of light and soil moisture conditions to ensure the success of the project and promote biodiversity in your own garden.
Step 4: Create Your Ideal Plant Community
Creating a plant community is both a technical and creative process, similar to preparing a dish in the kitchen, offering an infinite number of possible combinations adapted to the specific conditions of each site. It’s all about choosing the plants that best harmonize with the environmental conditions and your aesthetic preferences. For those who find this step daunting, professional plant design services are available. Alternatively, online tools can guide plant selection according to precise criteria such as light levels and soil moisture.
Step 5: Prepare the Soil of the Lawn to Be Regenerated
Preparing the soil for lawn regeneration can be done by several methods, adapted according to cost, effort required and desired horticultural control. The direct method consists in mowing short, decompacting with a broad fork, and planting directly, offering a simple and economical solution. The Tabula Rasa method removes the lawn and part of the soil before planting, allowing more precise control over the new planted environment. Canvassing, which uses tarpaulins to eliminate underlying vegetation, is ideal against stubborn weeds, but less aesthetically pleasing. Finally, tilling is used for very hard soils, requiring a rototiller for deep preparation before planting. Each method has its own specific advantages and should be chosen according to site conditions and desired results.
Step 6: Find the Plants for Your Project
To successfully purchase plants for your gardening project, it’s crucial to plan ahead and choose your suppliers carefully, giving preference to native plants that are often less represented on the horticultural market. Start by identifying local suppliers who offer the types of plants needed for your project. It’s a good idea to e-mail your orders well in advance, especially during peak spring demand periods. Be sure to specify the quantities, species and formats required. If not available, check with other suppliers or opt for alternative species. Coordinate transport of the plants to your home, and make sure they are watered and stored in the shade until planting.
Step 7: Planting the Community
The arrangement of plants in a garden greatly influences its aesthetics, although this has little ecological impact. You can opt for a formal arrangement with regular rows for a controlled look, or a more random arrangement for a more natural or wild effect, depending on your personal preferences.
To plant, dig a hole twice as wide and the same depth as the plant’s root ball, remove the plant from the pot, loosen the coiled roots, add a mycorrhizal agent if necessary (optional), place the plant so that the top of the root ball is level with the surrounding soil without burying the base of the leaves, and water abundantly. For seeding, if a seed mixture has been chosen, mix the seeds with sand or loose soil to facilitate uniform spreading.
Step 8: Taking Care Of Your Garden
Maintaining a garden designed for biodiversity is less about maintaining a pre-established order than welcoming and managing natural change. In the short term, after planting, the emphasis is on regular watering and weeding to help young plants establish themselves without being smothered by opportunistic species. In the long term, the aim is to minimize intervention and allow the garden to become more self-sufficient, by adopting permaculture practices and increasing the diversity of native plants. It is also crucial to avoid the use of chemicals and favor natural pest control methods to maintain ecological balance and support biodiversity.
Step 9: Helping Others Take Action
To facilitate the social acceptability of ecological gardens replacing traditional lawns, it’s essential to communicate and educate neighbors about the ecological benefits. Using explanatory signs and maintaining an attractive aesthetic can help to better integrate these spaces into the neighborhood. Encouraging engagement by sharing plants and personal experiences, as well as actively participating in community and municipal biodiversity initiatives, can also promote wider acceptance. These efforts help to transform traditional perceptions of gardening and encourage a more sustainable, environmentally-friendly approach to urban design.
Step 10: Continue Educating Yourself
Transforming your lawn into a biodiversity-friendly habitat doesn’t end with this text, but rather begins here. Consult the complete toolbox as a starting point for building your knowledge and experience in gardening, an ever-evolving field that includes innovative techniques and scientific discoveries. Continue to educate yourself by exploring additional resources on organic gardening, permaculture, or simply by observing what’s going on around you. Every little effort contributes to a greener, more sustainable future for all.
So share your lawn and share life!
Thank you for all the great information!