Anti-work and anti-lawn have a lot in common in my opinion!
Anti-lawn is all about breaking down specific traditions that are hurting people, hurting the Earth, and wasting precious resources all for the sake of superficial reasons. Sound a little familiar?
A quick list of why I am anti-lawn:
- Traditional (Zoysia) grass lawns began in medieval times as a status symbol. The rich didn't need to grow their own crops and to show how well off they are, they made their land completely useless by growing grass.
- The type of grass used in lawns are not native to most areas in the US and take over native species that could otherwise be helping bee populations and other native insects that are vital to local ecosystems.
- The amount of water used to keep non-native grasses alive is astronomical and entirely wasteful. ESPECIALLY in areas prone to drought (aka a large portion of the western US).
- Pesticides and weed killers are poisoning the water for local wildlife and are known to cause cancer and birth defects in humans.
- There is approx. 40-50 million acres of land in America wasted on grass lawns, that could be returned to wildlife, used for additional housing or used to grow crops.
There are alternatives to grass lawns that are excluded from this, like clover lawns, moss lawns or native plant lawns.
The time we spend taking care of our lawns, could be going to something much more meaningful and beneficial for the Earth… a familiar feeling this community has for our own jobs.
Check out r/NoLawns if you want more info. Or r/Antilawn for memes.