Climate changes, get over it.
Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
101–110 of 330 posts
Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
A friend once explained that boys are like dogs. They need exercising twice a day. A back yard and a ball are sufficient for that. A paved area is more likely than lawn to provide yet more trips to ER.
I wish I could get my son to exercise twice a day. He hates going outside. He prefers his exercise running around in Minecraft, and if he does get it in real life, it's jumping around the living room.
Get him a VR headset. Beat Saber can be quite the exercise routine.
Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
#103In Germany we have "Kleingärten / Schrebergärten" in most cities that mostly belong to non-profit associations. They give people the chance to lease a small garden - 400 m² on average - and grow their own fruit and vegetables, and of course spend time there in the summer (most gardens have small houses where people can stay overnight as well). More than 5 million people use such gardens. The statutes of most associations require people to grow fruit or vegetables on a given percentage - usually 30 % - of the lot, and to have a certain number of trees on the lot as well.
Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
#104In Germany we have "Kleingärten / Schrebergärten" in most cities that mostly belong to non-profit associations. They give people the chance to lease a small garden - 400 m² on average - and grow their own fruit and vegetables, and of course spend time there in the summer (most gardens have small houses where people can stay overnight as well). More than 5 million people use such gardens. The statutes of most associat…
In NL we call them 'volkstuinen' or people gardens. For people in cities who don't have outside space, such as apartments.
Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
#105>Also, don’t use bug zappers, which Berenbaum said do not work in killing mosquitoes but do kill hundreds of beneficial species.
This summer I stopped at a petrol station located in some remote forest area. There were literally heaps of dead bugs inside and under the neon panels. Since then I have been wondering how much of the insects are killed simply by the lights that we keep on in the outdoors.
Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
Since having kids I’ve been realising that a lot of the things in life that other people do, that have never made sense to me, suddenly make a whole lot more sense in the context of kids. With a kid, I’m suddenly super grateful for my little lawn.
When I was a kid, our (huge) back yard was more orchard than yard. It had at least 30 fruit trees, including cherry, apple, pear, peach and plum. There were hazelnuts, brambles and raspberries. Next to that was a patch of land with all kinds of produce. I loved playing in that yard. It had great places to hide. Ample trees to climb. Wildlife to look for and learn about. A variety of fun tasks to perform, from picking…
It took me many years to realize that nearly everything in my grandmother's back yard (except the lawn and porch) was food. There were orange trees, a cherry tree, an avocado tree, garlic, and a raspberry bramble. I loved picking raspberries. There was a pomegranate tree in the front.
A garden is always going to be better than a lawn. A garden of plants that grow faster than trees may be higher-maintenance, though.
Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
#107Why do lawns even factor into the equation when the reality is that industry, farms, etc. own the majority of all water usage? I live in a desert area and hate seeing lawns watered in the middle of the summer but its impact seems trivial. Agriculture is a major user of ground and surface water in the United States, accounting for approximately 80 percent of the Nation's consumptive water use and over 90 percent in ma…
It doesn’t sound like the suggestion was made on the basis of water usage. Full quote FTA: > “Get rid of your lawns,” she said. “Lawns are total biological deserts. It’s just grass with pesticides. The way it’s grown does not support a lot of biodiversity.”
It is not obvious to me why I'd want my front yard to be teeming with insects.
Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
#108> “Get rid of your lawns,” she said. “Lawns are total biological deserts. It’s just grass with pesticides. The way it’s grown does not support a lot of biodiversity.”
> Instead, plant native flowers that provide nectar and pollen for pollinators, Berenbaum said.
I see this a lot recently where I live in Germany, but at the same time I see the opposite as well. Lawn replaced by gravel, often pitch black one. I don't mean that people replace their lawn with parking lots, I mean nice green front gardens turn into minimalist charcoal stone gardens. It has its appeal but not if it is overdone. Is it good for insects? I don't know, certainly not for the flying ones.
Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
It doesn’t sound like the suggestion was made on the basis of water usage. Full quote FTA: > “Get rid of your lawns,” she said. “Lawns are total biological deserts. It’s just grass with pesticides. The way it’s grown does not support a lot of biodiversity.”
It is not obvious to me why I'd want my front yard to be teeming with insects.
Because your world depends on them.
Re: Renowned Entomologist Says ‘Get Rid of Your Lawn’
#110Are there environmentally friendly alternatives to the traditional grass lawn if one uses their lawn for sports, BBQ, and play? Maybe just allowing grass to grow more naturally rather than using pesticides and removing weeds?