I am a big fan of this quote by 18th century philosopher Edmund Burke: “Never, no never, did nature say one thing, and wisdom another.”
Nature adapts and survives. Since the climate crisis is a result of our disconnection from nature, we ought to pay close attention to its wisdom.
One place you can reconnect is in your yard. The Island’s land is stressed from heat, longer droughts, and heavier rain.
If you are fortunate enough to own a patch of land, you can help make it, and the Island, more climate-resilient by planting native plants and limiting lawn size. (Throw in a vegetable garden too, and save yourself some grocery money.)
A new booklet called “Planting Local” will soon be available to guide you.
Why use native plants? The booklet notes that “when you incorporate local plants into your landscaping, your yard becomes a steppingstone of habitat that is part of the web of life connecting natural communities across the island.”
The booklet was funded through a grant to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC), and was developed by BiodiversityWorks in collaboration with the Polly Hill Arboretum and the Vineyard Conservation Society.
Here are some of the reasons native plants are so valuable:
- They have deep roots systems that require less watering.
- The deep roots help make them resistant to drought.
- They attract pollinating butterflies and bees.
- Many are colorful and cheerful.
- They provide ecological balance.
- They reduce the need for chemical pest control.
- They are low-maintenance.
- Many bloom throughout the summer.
- Native landscapes require less mowing than lawns.
- Lawns have little to no ecological value.
The booklet is focused “on building our resilience to climate change by incorporating plants native to the Island into yards and commercial landscapes. The Island’s indigenous plants are adapted to our soils and weather extremes … and support ecological resiliency that will protect our environment for future generations.”
Meanwhile, bright green, manicured, fertilized, and irrigated lawns take the nature out of nature. They do not support pollinators or other wildlife. They do not filter rainwater or control erosion anywhere near as well as native plants, shrubs, and trees. They do nothing to address the land’s climate-related stress.
Lawns used to be a sign of status. Now they are a symbol of climate distress.
Lawns take up 40 million acres of land in the U.S.; 40 million acres that could be bursting with all varieties of interconnected life. Many lawns are maintained with fertilizers that can pollute our waterways, and chemicals that are toxic to land, water, pets, and humans. Nationwide, about 80 million pounds of pesticides are applied to lawns each year. Lawn maintenance consumes over 200 million gallons of gas every year. This is an assault on Mother Nature.
The best advice I have heard about lawns is to think of them as throw rugs, not wall-to-wall carpeting.
The “Plant Local” booklet will be available as a digital download at thevineyardway.org/category/plant-local-mv, or picked up at local nurseries. There will be pop-ups at the Vineyard Gardens Fall Festival on Oct. 12, the Morning Glory Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 19, and the Agricultural Society’s Fall Harvest on Oct. 20.
Nature knows best!
