Plenty of stories can be found when local journalists dig into their community's lawn-care practices

Examining community lawn-care habits can yield
rich stories. (Adobe Stock photo)

If you're a local environmental journalist, you need to go no further than examining your community's lawn care for possible stories. "Let’s be real: Green lawns are anything but natural," writes Joseph A. Davis for the Society of Environmental Journalists. "Not only does the perfect green lawn require laborious mowing — and watering, and fertilizer, and weed killers and bug killers. But a lot of those chemicals may run off the lawn and into water bodies where they may do harm."

The more manicured the lawn, the greater the chances of heavy, inorganic treatment. Some residents have little choice but to use chemicals because homeowner associations and zoning laws dictate lawn care. Still, other individuals rebel against their local “lawn police," Davis adds, "That might be a story. Can you keep bees or raise chickens? What does that mean for the turf? . . . Sometimes the streetward side of a yard may be a municipal easement, rather than the owner’s property. This can sometimes spark conflict, too."

For community reporters, if there's land and people around you, there's likely some nature-center story to be found. Some of Davis' reporting resources are shared below. For his full list of ideas, click here.

• National Wildlife Federation: A national membership organization for wildlife conservation. It has local chapters. And it is the one to certify home yard wildlife habitats.
• Xerces Society: A broad group whose membership includes scientists and landscape managers, and is devoted to invertebrate conservation. It has pollinator-friendly plant lists by region.
• Local nurseries: Gardeners visit these local treasures often. Talk to senior staff.
• County extension: All-purpose helpers with expertise. Here is a good directory.
• Ecological Landscape Alliance: A professional organization whose members include landscape architects and others. Its directory is a gold mine.
• Planning and zoning boards: They usually have lots of staff. They can help you find out what’s legal in your area.
• Garden clubs: There is likely one in your neighborhood. Go to a meeting. And bring cookies.