lawns

Feel hopeless about our planet? Here's how you can help solve a big problem right in your own backyard

Feel hopeless about our planet? Here's how you can help solve a big problem right in your own backyard

It's easy to feel hopeless about climate change, to believe most solutions are out of your hands. But you can help fix one of the biggest environmental issues of our time, since it's probably growing right in your own yard: lawn grass. Most Canadian yards are a sea of non-native, inedible turf grass. Not evolved for our climate, it requires intensive maintenance, watering and fertilizer inputs, and provides virtually no value to native species. Yet this "eco-desert" is the largest irrigated crop in North America. 

Water restrictions for Metro Vancouver on the way, regional district says

Water restrictions for Metro Vancouver on the way, regional district says

Metro Vancouver is warning its residents and businesses that water usage for lawns will be restricted beginning next month. Starting May 1, seasonal regulations that limit lawn watering to once per week will come into effect in an effort to conserve the region’s drinking water for the coming hot and dry months. “We are increasingly seeing variable weather patterns due to climate change, and we can’t always count on rainfall to replenish our water supply when we need it,” said George V. Harvie, Metro Vancouver board of directors chair.