LiveLB June 2012 : Page 62
The First Annual Lawn-to-Garden Tour WRITTEN BY DANIEL ALBERT PHOTOS COURTESY OF LONG BEACH WATER DEPARTMENT A Grassless Roots Campaign T 62 he saying goes that “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” What they failed to mention is that the other side of the fence also has higher water bills and a social life that mainly consists of weeding and mowing on the weekends. “Lawn-to-Garden” Turf Replacement Program, which aims to significantly improve the landscape of Long Beach physically, economically and en-vironmentally. The aim of the program is to aid the people of Long Beach in finding so-lutions to water-guzzling grass lawns. The program was created to give options for beautiful water-smart landscapes that are in harmony with the region’s semi-arid climate. “The average home uses about 50% of its water outdoors,” Lyons con-tinues. “A lot of that water is wasted because off inefficient landscape irrigation and equipment. People aren’t really sure of how much to water their grass so most people tend to overwater. When thinking about the future and conservation, we know that one of the best ways to conserve water is to help people transform their grass lawns into beautiful drought tolerant landscapes.” Homeowners can apply to the program and receive up to $2500 towards converting their lawn into a water friendly landscape (in the form of $2.50 per sq ft up to 1000 sq ft). The program also provides a list of suggest-ed plants, design inspirations, and before and after images of some of California is a semi-arid climate. Water conservation is one of our biggest problems not only for our immediate future, but for several years down the road and lawns are one of the biggest contribu-tors to the overuse of water. “Water reliability in Southern California is a huge issue,” states Matt Ly-ons—Director of Planning & Conservation for the Long Beach Water De-partment. “To manage water reliability we always have to look years into the future and when you look into the future of Southern California things really don’t look very good.” California is supplied by 3 major aqueducts all of which have sustained permanent cutbacks. With a growing population and expanding econ-omy, water conservation is paramount to avoid a water shortage crisis. The Long Beach Water department has developed a key program, the HOME & GARDEN | JUNE 2012
A Grassless Roots Campaign The First Annual Lawn-to-Garden Tour
The saying goes that “The grass is always greener on the<br /> other side of the fence.” What they failed to mention is that<br /> the other side of the fence also has higher water bills and<br /> a social life that mainly consists of weeding and mowing<br /> on the weekends.<br /> California is a semi-arid climate. Water conservation is<br /> one of our biggest problems not only for our immediate future, but for<br /> several years down the road and lawns are one of the biggest contributors<br /> to the overuse of water.<br /> “Water reliability in Southern California is a huge issue,” states Matt Lyons—<br /> Director of Planning & Conservation for the Long Beach Water Department.<br /> “To manage water reliability we always have to look years into<br /> the future and when you look into the future of Southern California things<br /> really don’t look very good.”<br /> California is supplied by 3 major aqueducts all of which have sustained<br /> permanent cutbacks. With a growing population and expanding economy,<br /> water conservation is paramount to avoid a water shortage crisis.<br /> The Long Beach Water department has developed a key program, the<br /> “Lawn-to-Garden” Turf Replacement Program, which aims to significantly<br /> improve the landscape of Long Beach physically, economically and environmentally.<br /> The aim of the program is to aid the people of Long Beach in finding solutions<br /> to water-guzzling grass lawns. The program was created to give<br /> options for beautiful water-smart landscapes that are in harmony with the<br /> region’s semi-arid climate.<br /> tinues. “A lot of that water is wasted because off inefficient landscape<br /> irrigation and equipment. People aren’t really sure of how much to water<br /> their grass so most people tend to overwater. When thinking about the<br /> future and conservation, we know that one of the best ways to conserve<br /> water is to help people transform their grass lawns into beautiful drought<br /> tolerant landscapes.”<br /> per sq ft up to 1000 sq ft). The program also provides a list of suggested<br /> plants, design inspirations, and before and after images of some of<br /> the beautiful landscapes that have been created<br /> through the program in the past.<br /> The program also celebrated its first annual Lawn-<br /> ees from all over Long Beach. The tour celebrated<br /> some of the most beautiful drought tolerant landscapes<br /> aided by the Lawn-to-Garden program and<br /> showed that the city of Long Beach is committed to<br /> transforming the landscape of the city.<br /> With all of the benefits of switching from grass to<br /> garden it’s easy to understand why the eco-conscious<br /> city of Long Beach is so willing to make the<br /> change. In addition to the obvious benefits like saving<br /> water for the city and saving money on water<br /> bills, switching to a drought tolerant landscape also<br /> saves energy for the city since water-related energy<br /> accounts for about 20% of the state’s electricity. In<br /> addition, these landscapes also have a huge impact<br /> ecologically as they reduce urban runoff and<br /> create habitats for important wildlife such as hummingbirds<br /> and butterflies.<br /> “This is more than just a matter of providing people<br /> a rebate,” Lyons concludes. “We’ve really given<br /> them all the information we can to help them be<br /> successful.”<br />
Publication List
Using a screen reader? Click Here