Navigating the environmental impacts of lawn care
Walking around campus, it’s hard to miss the natural beauty abounding on Colby’s campus. Students have been taking advantage of the warmer weather and enjoying the outdoors on lawns across Mayflower Hill.
The College spans 714 acres, an area which inevitably needs to be cared for and upkept. As spring advances, there is a growing demand for lawn care and landscaping. While landscaping is a vital part of ensuring the College’s topophilic aesthetic, it is also important to consider the environmental repercussions of these grooming requirements.
Interestingly enough, lawn care negatively impacts the environment through a variety of manners including operating machinery for maintenance, using fertilizers that contain toxic chemicals, and excessive usage of water. The familiarity of seeing well-kept lawns has created the illusion that the well-being of our grass occurs automatically, and that it does not involve these threats to sustainability.
Sometimes, there is a misconception that lawns offset their carbon impacts on the environment through absorbing carbon dioxide, but a study from the University of California, Berkeley, found that, in lawns that are frequently maintained like sports fields, the emissions from maintenance are greater than the amount of emissions absorbed. This is largely due to the fact that lawning equipment is heavily reliant on gasoline energy sources and make use of highly inefficient motors.
Further, the Prince Student Climate Initiative (PSCI) found that five percent of the total air pollution in the United States stems from gas-powered lawn mowers. This is a staggering number when thinking about the relatively insignificant role lawnmowers play in our daily lifestyles.
Moreover, fertilizer used in the landscaping process brings its own sustainability concerns. A research report from Cornell University states that every ton of nitrogen used in the planting process contributes four to five tons of carbon into the atmosphere. The usage of nitrogen based fertilizers is harmful to our environment by exacerbating anthropogenic climate change.
On top of this, fertilizers also pose a threat to water quality and health. Again, per the PSCI, a study found that 60 percent of the nitrogen in fertilizers ends up penetrating the water supply. This cultivates toxic algae in bodies of water, polluting once healthy lakes and rivers.
The College can take steps to engage in healthier lawn care. There are new technologies that offer alternatives to the traditional forms of landscaping that pose a threat to our natural world. Now, when shopping at places like Home Depot and Lowes, lawn mowers come in various models, including ones with an electric motor. There are also classes from local gardening clubs that demonstrate sustainable gardening techniques for individual, at-home projects.
With the information and opportunities to change landscaping present to us today, it is imperative to not only think about lawn care’s environmental impacts, but also about the actions one can take to change their own practices for the better. Maintaining an aesthetically pleasing environment is, by no means, a negative thing, but we also must take all precautions possible to mitigate any negative effects of doing so.
~Adrian Visscher `24
