By Ben Soltau
Lawns are a staple in almost every suburban and rural household throughout Australia. But why? Especially when they suck so badly.
Here are 5 reasons why you should reconsider your (most likely indifferent) stance on lawns.
No.1: Water Usage
The average garden sprinkler in Australia uses 1000 litres of water per hour, this amounts up to an average garden water usage of around 90 per cent, over a third of total household water consumption just for a bunch of grass.
No.2: Land Usage
Lawns in Australia make up an estimated 4400 hectares of space, comprising a total of 11 per cent of capital cities. All this space could be used for housing, infrastructure, utilities, businesses, nature, or a variety of other useful public spaces.
No.3: Biodiversity
Contrary to their perceived purpose, lawns aren’t very “natural” in terms of ecological significance and are considered ecological dead zones or deserts, with very little biodiversity to offer. Lawns are insufficient to house most invertebrates and, as a result, insufficient to attract most animals above them on the food chain.
No.4: Appearance
Lawns don’t even look good half the time, with splotchy yellowed-out dead sections and a monotonous colour palette. Lawn alternatives have the potential to look far superior aesthetically, such as wildflowers, succulent gardens, or clover lawns, each requiring less maintenance, such as mowing, fertilizing, and watering.
No.5: Alienation
Lawns separate and isolate communities from each other both physically and socially, rarely even getting used by homeowners or children, especially when alternatives such as public parks exist that can more effectively bring people together, not to mention have more space for kids and pets to roam.
Featured image: Lawns suck up massive resources – most notably water. Photo: aboodi vesakaran/CC/Unsplash
