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By Lisa Moore
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
The smell of fresh cut grass carried on the warm summer breeze, backyard cookouts, and children playing in the yard are all hallmarks of summer. There is something magical about a green, lush lawn and that feeling of walking barefoot through the soft spongy growth. For some individuals, maintaining their lawn and garden is a burden gladly passed on to a landscaper, while others tackle the chore with passion, lovingly caring for the green spaces around them.
Whether you are a do-it-yourself type or one that hires out the job, there are several “greener,” more environmentally-friendly ways to keep your green spaces green. Use of pesticides and fertilizers can contaminate the local water supply and be a danger for wildlife, pets, and children. Finding ways to have a beautiful green lawn that is also environmentally safe doesn’t have to be a daunting task. With a few minor changes to the typical lawn care routine, a beautiful green lawn can be attained, often at less cost to the homeowner and the environment.
Wellesley Natural Resources Commission’s Green Wellesley Campaign is striving to educate residents on “green” ways to a green lawn. The NRC is looking for residents to break the pesticide habit, become informed of the health and environmental hazards of pesticides, inform others about alternatives to pesticides, and join their pesticide awareness campaign.
Pesticides are designed to be toxic. In addition to killing target pests, pesticides harm non-target organisms, like beneficial insects, plants, wildlife, and even people. Reading the warning label on pesticide products, one can see the dangers. Exposure to pesticides can cause cancer, damage the central nervous system, and cause respiratory illness. These dangers are especially high for children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with asthma and other respiratory or chronic health concerns.
The NRC has implemented Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies that provide long term pest management in a cost effective way, all while protecting our health and the health of our environment. IMP uses site-specific information about the local conditions, combined with knowledge of pest biology and behavior to prevent and control pests. Strategies that involve minor adjustments to irrigation and mowing practices along with proper sanitation and maintenance of green areas to prevent attracting pests all can go a long way.
Leading by example, all NRC and most town-owned lands are currently on reduced pesticide landscaping plans. All parks, schools, and fields in town are maintained without the use of pesticides and it is the hope of the NRC that by next year, all town properties will be maintained using “green” practices.
The NRC offered some tips for residents. First, while mowing your lawn, instead of bagging grass clippings - which costs money for the bags and take up space in landfills - use a mulching mower that cuts and spreads out the clippings over the grass. These clippings will decompose and replace nutrients into the soil, acting as a natural fertilizer and eliminating the need for commercial fertilizers. Another tip is to let Mother Nature water your grass. New England has a high enough precipitation rate to ensure that turf grasses do not need to be watered daily to survive. Excessive watering of lawns speeds up growth, increasing the number of times the grass must be mowed, thus increasing yard waste and fuel use. In addition, excessive watering can actually encourage shallow root development and an increased thatch layer, increasing the risk for diseases and stress injury to the grass. If lawn pests like grubs or weeds appear, the NRC suggest hand-pulling of the weeds and use of natural pest removal techniques like spot treating with beneficial nematodes. If weeds and insect pests remain a problem, using organic solutions to spot-treat problem areas is a better practice than treating the entire lawn with pesticides.
If you are interested in joining the NRC’s pesticide awareness campaign or looking for information about “green” ways for improving your lawn care practices, contact the NRC office at (781-431-1019 ext. 2294) or visit their website at www.wellesleyma.gov/NRC. Members of the NRC will also have a table set up at the July Jubilation in Wellesley Square on Saturday, July 16 and will be happy to answer questions on how to incorporate green practices into your lawn care regimen. “It takes a village to prevent pollution from pesticides. Join others who care about protecting our health, our community, and the environment.”
