Green Grass Between Your Toes

by WiredBerries Editors — August 4, 2008

One of the joys of summer is walking barefoot across your lawn (should you be so lucky as to have a little patch of green all your own). You can enjoy lovely green grass without guilt-inducing and planet-punishing activities with a few tips from Low Impact Living on planet-healthy lawn management:

• Collect rain water and use it for your plants. Getting a rain barrel or two for your yard is a simple way to collect and reuse Mother Nature's water.
• Make sure you're not over-watering. Do you have moss growing on your driveway or sidewalk or in your garden? That's a sign you're watering too much.
• Don't hose down your sidewalks and driveway. That water is a valuable resource and the water you send into the gutter is carrying oil and a host of chemicals out as run-off that go on to pollute our rivers, lakes and oceans.
• Get a push mower for your lawn. Traditional gas mowers are horrible for our air quality and contribute to global warming.
• Say no to leaf-blowers! The gas-powered leaf blowers some people use are major carbon emissions culprits. Say yes to a broom! Your waist-line will thank you too.
• And when you're done mowing, leave your clippings on your yard. Those grass clippings make great mulch and will help you save water as well.
• Be sure to compost your other yard waste.
• Embrace native plants. Plants, flowers and grasses that are native to your region are the most atuned to soil, climate and water particularities. They are great water savers and will thrive with less care than tropical and other imported varieties.
• Are you addicted to the look of grass but live in a high-drought area? You may want to consider synthetic grass. It uses no water, lasts over ten years, and looks & feels surprisingly real.
• Start your own organic food garden? Nothing could be better for the planet or your health.
• Use non-toxic fertilizers and pest-control agents for your garden and lawn. Not only are these better for your plants (particularly any food you might eat), they reduce the amount of toxins that run-off into our waterways.
• Use solar or LED lighting in your lawn. Solar lighting is obviously an energy-saver. If you don't find solar lights bright enough, check out LED lights--they are very bright and use very little power. They will last 5-10 times as long as standard outdoor lights.