Beyond the Lawn: Inviting Nature Home | Justin Grubb | TEDxStLouis

Key Concepts

• Insect Importance: Insects are crucial for global agriculture, contributing significantly to food production through pollination.
• Habitat Loss: A major decline in insect populations is attributed to habitat loss and pesticide use.
• American Lawn: The dominant habitat in the US, characterized by monoculture grass, is a "biological desert" that negatively impacts wildlife.
• Historical Context of Lawns: Lawns originated in medieval Europe for defense and evolved into a symbol of wealth and status, brought to the New World by European settlers.
• Ecological Impact of Lawns: The expansion of lawns has led to a reciprocal decrease in wildlife populations.
• Personal Experience and Motivation: The speaker's childhood experience of witnessing the destruction of a natural habitat and the subsequent failure of a petition fueled a lifelong dedication to conservation.
• Biodiversity Experiment: A simple experiment comparing macroinvertebrate diversity in a lawn versus a "weedy" habitat demonstrated the superior biodiversity of the latter.
• Native Plants: Utilizing native plants is crucial for supporting local biodiversity due to their co-evolution with local fauna and their robust root systems.
• "Be Lazy" Approach to Conservation: Embracing a less manicured approach to yard maintenance (less mowing, raking, deadheading) can significantly benefit wildlife and save resources.
• Conservation Starts at Home: Individual backyards can be transformed into vital habitats, contributing to broader ecological restoration.

The Ecological Crisis of the American Lawn

The Vital Role of Insects and the Threat of Decline

The video opens by highlighting the immense importance of insects, stating that 80% of all animal life on Earth is comprised of insects. Their productivity is estimated to generate $577 billion annually in global agricultural products, with one out of every three bites of human food attributed to their pollination efforts. This underscores their critical role in our food systems.

However, a stark contrast is presented: over the last 50 years, 75% of insect populations have disappeared due to habitat loss and pesticide use. This decline is illustrated by the imagined scenario of an insect's journey, where a once vibrant habitat teeming with neighbors is replaced by an "endless horizon" with no other creatures in sight, making the simple act of finding breakfast a "long, treacherous journey."

The Dominance and Detriment of the American Lawn

The speaker identifies the "American lawn" as the most dominant habitat in the United States, covering an area roughly the size of Nebraska and being the largest agricultural system in the country, three times larger than corn. This habitat, despite its prevalence, is described as a "biological desert."

The historical trajectory of lawns is traced back to medieval Europe, where they served a defensive purpose by providing clear lines of sight for castle guards. Over time, lawns became a symbol of wealth and were integrated into landscaping designs by European architects. When Europeans settled in the New World, they brought this practice with them. In the US, the function shifted from defense against armies to defense against "disapproving stares from neighbors judging weeds in their grass." Americans collectively spend $100 billion annually on lawns, covering costs for watering, fertilizing, herbicide and pesticide application, and mowing. This extensive investment in a biologically barren landscape is directly linked to the observed decrease in wildlife populations.

A Personal Journey Towards Conservation

The speaker shares a personal anecdote that ignited their passion for conservation. As a child, they found sanctuary in a small neighborhood creek surrounded by wildflowers and plants, coexisting with insects, fish, amphibians, and mammals. A disturbing change occurred when the creek water turned brown, and the frogs fell silent. Investigating upstream, they discovered a clear-cut area with tire tracks, indicating construction runoff polluting the creek. The realization that their sanctuary was being destroyed to build houses led to a futile attempt at activism: a petition signed by friends that had no impact. This experience, at the age of third grade, led to a feeling that "democracy didn't work" and a resolve to dedicate their life to conservation.

This dedication led to a career as a wildlife biologist and later as a filmmaker and photographer, working with conservation organizations globally to support biodiversity-rich communities. However, the speaker realized that "conservation starts at home."

An Experiment in Biodiversity: Lawn vs. Weeds

To understand the dynamic of home-based conservation, the speaker conducted a simple experiment. They compared two habitats: a typical American lawn and an "overgrown sort of habitat that people would call weeds." Using a butterfly net, they performed an equal number of sweeps in both areas, collecting macroinvertebrates. The results, presented visually, clearly showed that the "weedy" habitat supported significantly more biodiversity than the manicured lawn.

Transforming a Backyard into an Oasis

After purchasing a house surrounded by lawn, the speaker felt conflicted, fearing they were contributing to habitat destruction. However, they recognized the potential to allow nature to reclaim their yard, creating an "oasis for wildlife." This involved removing parts of the lawn and replacing them with native habitat, including native wildflowers and shrubs. Landscaping elements like rock and log piles were added, along with birdhouses, to provide shelter and interaction spaces for wildlife.

Key considerations for this transformation included:

• Plant Selection: Not all plants are equal in their ability to support biodiversity. For instance, some oak species can support up to 2,000 different animal species, and goldenrod can feed up to 115 butterfly species alone.
• Native Plants: Choosing plants native to the specific area is crucial. These plants are best adapted to local soil and weather conditions and have co-evolved with local animals, providing optimal support. Resources for identifying native plants include online databases and local nurseries with native plant departments.
• Root Systems: Native plants possess "incredible root systems" that far surpass the short roots of turf grass. These extensive root systems make them more resilient to environmental extremes. The maturation of a native garden may take longer, as plants invest energy in root development, but this is a natural and beneficial process.

The "Be Lazy" Approach to Conservation

The speaker advocates for a "lazy" approach to lawn maintenance as a key strategy for conservation. This involves:

• Not mowing the lawn: Allowing grass to grow longer provides habitat and food for insects.
• Not deadheading flowers: Leaving spent flowers allows them to go to seed, providing food for birds and other wildlife, and also allows for natural reseeding.
• Not raking leaves: Leaf litter provides crucial habitat for overwintering insects and other small creatures, as well as enriching the soil.

This seemingly counter-intuitive advice offers numerous benefits: saving money, energy, and time; altering water flow to reduce chemical runoff into waterways; and inviting back species that have been extirpated from the area. It makes the "little short walk to breakfast for that insect so much easier."

The Results: Nature's Return

Since converting parts of their lawn to native habitat, the speaker has witnessed a "wild array of animals" return to their yard, starting with wildflowers, then insects, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and finally mammals. The principle of "If you build it, they will come" has proven true. The speaker even maintains a scorecard on a chalkboard to track the wildlife visiting their backyard, observing nature "blossom all around my house."

Conclusion: Conservation Starts at Home

The video concludes by framing this personal transformation as "conservation in action" that "starts with each and every one of you." It emphasizes that this endeavor is "more than just gardening," but rather a process of "reconnecting, restoring, and rewilding our world. One backyard at a time."