Paving jeopardises groundwater

OUR daughter-in-law, Dunja, studying for her doctorate in botany at UCT, sent me an article by Dr Kevin Winter from the university, which I encourage you all to read.

What he is basically saying is we should not pave our gardens and lay artificial grass/ lawns. We need as much natural ground to be exposed as possible so when it does rain, the water has a chance to soak in and keep the supply of groundwater at levels needed in the future.

By creating more hard surfaces, we are forcing more water into stormwater drains where, in most cases, it is lost into the sea.

A second consideration is that hard surfaces keep temperature high, whereas the right indigenous plants keep the surrounding areas cooler and shaded.

Mrs Mac agrees. She believes me mowing lawns or tending the garden is healthy exercise and more beneficial than watching sport.

The link to Winter’s article is https://www.facebook.com/biologicalsciences.uct/posts/1076386735850599

Don’t rush to pave your garden.