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“No Mow May“ Won't Fix Our Biodiversity Problems

Lawns and our relationship with them are, well, kind of complicated.

“You can drive a stake through its heart, you can put on the garlic,” but you still won’t ever get rid of the grass.The imperatives to remove lawns span a range of concerns: managing scarce water, building climate resiliency, boosting biodiversity, and even supporting mental health. She generally cautions against digging up grass (it removes organic matter and disturbs the soil), and has co-authored one study that found flaws with covering a yard with cardboard and other sheet mulches in order to smother and kill off existing vegetation. In terms of reducing the movement of gasses from the soil into the atmosphere and vice versa, she said that black plastic (which kills unwanted plants by solarization and is used by organic practitioners) is worse than using 12 inches of coarse wood chips.

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