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About 10% of Flanders is forest land and about 9% of Flanders is privately owned gardens. About 30% of those ‘our’ private gardens are paved, the rest we are usually very creative, aren’t we? Because did you know that “lawn” is the magic word for 8 out of 10 families . We have more than 50 synonyms for the word. From peloese, pine pale, splint, lawn, … to ordinary turf.
Also in urban areas ‘lawn’ is a very popular use for green zones and accounts for 70 to 75%.
But don’t let that turf be an example of biodiversity, … on the contrary.
A 2019 study ” Ecological and economic benefits of low-intensity urban lawn management , “ published in the journal of Applied Ecology science magazine, uncovered much more.
![Christopher Watson](https://bark.today/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Christopher_Watson9.jpg)
Christopher Watson is an Australian botanist and environmental scientist and his team conducted lengthy research. They found strong evidence that increased mowing intensity of urban lawns — including parks, roundabouts and roadsides — had negative ecological effects, particularly on invertebrate and plant diversity. Pests, on the other hand, benefited from intensive lawn management.
Even a modest reduction in lawn mowing frequency can provide numerous environmental benefits: more pollinators, greater plant diversity and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, a longer, healthier lawn makes it more resistant to pests, weeds and drought.
Frequent mowing mainly causes the soil to weaken and weeds to thrive. For example, ‘ Ambrosia artemisiifolia ‘ the hay fever plant loves all that mowing. This plant is an exotic species that mainly ends up in our gardens via bird feeder. But is a horror for hay fever patients.
![](https://bark.today/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/common-ragweed-ambrosia-artemisiifolia.jpg)
Not only are these pollen many times more potent than pollen from native grasses and trees, but they extend the pollen season by more than 2 months.
Or to make a long story short. With a little ‘less effort’ and a little less mowing, we can already take a step in the right direction.
In 2019, the ‘byebyegrass’ campaign wanted to encourage everyone to let their hair go wild. That’s a start. But you can go one step further… What if you had a labor-poor garden that also offers you a lot of goodies for 10 months a year. That’s what a food forest could do for you.