Editor's note: This post is part of a series. We'll be releasing one of Worldchanging ally Andy Lubershane's original comics each week until the end of the year. While many of the issues covered in the comics have been discussed on Worldchanging in the past, we hope that you'll be able to use this new medium in a different way … whether it's in your classroom, on your office wall, or to help explain ideas to friends and family.

This week's cartoon describes Wild Lawns. As we've discussed several times here on Worldchanging, the manicured, green grass lawns that are popular across the U.S. are inappropriate for many climates, and resource-intensive to maintain. Luckily, there are lots of better solutions for that space in front of your house! Alex Steffen's summertime post, Kill Your Lawn!, asked Worldchanging readers everywhere to contribute their own ideas for replacing the standard swaths of turf grass. A recent video post, This Lawn is Your Lawn, is a grassroots suggestion to the Obamas about replacing their White House lawn with a food garden. And for more inspiration, check out our 2005 post on Wild About Gardens, a non-profit initiative that is still working to spread awareness about nurturing backyard biodiversity.

Click image to enlarge

Andy Lubershane researches, writes and cartoons about sustainability from his home in Boston. He can be reached at alubershane[at]gmail[dot]com.

I don't think the nativeness of grass is as much of an issue as the need for regular fires and/or grazing to keep grassy areas from natural patterns of succession.

Posted by: Joe on December 2, 2008 9:32 AM

I can see the logic behind this. But it's probably difficult to "naturalize" your lawn when you have already committed the cardinal sin of planting the non native plants.

Posted by: Cullen Kappel on December 6, 2008 5:35 AM

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