“Though the problems of our world are increasingly complex, the solutions remain embarrassingly simple.”—Bill Mollison, the father of modern permaculture
In the West, we’re used to seeing lawns everywhere. A well-manicured lawn may even be said to be part of the “American dream,” offering a great place to relax, a clean foreground to our homes, and a place for children to play. But there is another side to lawns as well.
Some people take a notably dim view of lawns, and they may have good reason. While lawns have their advantages over non-living landscapes, most are destructive monocultures that work against the principles of nature. Tens of thousands of tons of pesticides are used for lawn maintenance every year in the United States alone, and many contain known carcinogens and neurotoxins.
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