A need for natural lawns

The modern lawn has its roots with British nobility in the 17th and 18th centuries. But, there is nothing natural about grass lawns. They consume an enormous amount of resources.

Homeowners poison our land with pesticides and herbicides to have perfect grass lawns. The chemicals runoff and become a major source of water pollution. Fertilizers are used on our lawns which run-off and make it to our bodies of water such as our waterways and Great Lakes, putting them in danger of eutrophication. Lawnmowers account for five percent of our air pollution. According to the EPA, they pollute volatile organic compounds and greenhouse gasses and pose serious health threats. Stormwater runoff causes street flooding and increases stormwater costs.

Natural lawns with all native vegetation instead of grass lawns will reduce our stormwater drain issues and costs. They are beneficial to wildlife and insects. With natural lawns, we wouldn’t spend our weekends mowing.

Unfortunately, most municipalities don’t allow natural lawns. Oak Park city code section 18-281, for instance, says lawns cannot be taller than eight inches. The City of Oak Park told me the exception is that residents can plant a garden in the back yard but it must be free of “weeds,” i.e. native vegetation.

Personally, I have been slowly converting my backyard of grass to a clover lawn. It’s the best I can do with Oak Park’s restrictive ordinances. Clover is a nitrogen-fixer, so it naturally fertilizes your lawn. Its flowers feed pollinators. Clover is even drought resistant.

I also encourage homeowners to leave leaves be. They provide habitat for our sharply declining insect population through the harsh winter season. Leaves provide natural fertilizer for our lawns. I wait until the spring until I mulch them into the lawn.

Ferndale allows natural lawns through its planned natural landscaping program. There is no reason Oak Park — and other municipalities in the county — cannot do the same.

William McMullin

Oak Park