REWILDING Your Property – Oh Yeah, It’s a Thing!

Lawns are a part of American culture, and creating the perfect lawn is a major industry very dependent on labor and chemicals. Annually we spread millions of tons of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizer around our homes, and we spend much money and effort to maintain that perfect green lawn.  

At the same time, water quality suffers as excess nutrients from lawns wash from our properties impacting water quality in our ponds, streams, rivers and lakes. And, there is certainly a disconnect about using these chemicals where our children and pets play.

But some things are changing…

“Rewilding” is returning land to a more natural state, and typically involves introducing native plants and fostering habitats for local wildlife. Over the last decade, rewilding has become more mainstream. Why?  Some want to free up more time and money by substituting low-to-no maintenance plantings. Some people want to support pollinators – the plants and wildlife critical for plant and food production. Some want to lessen water resource consumption, others want to signal they are climate conscious. And, landscapers are taking notice, turning rewilding into a new “stylish” landscaping opportunity for homeowners.  

Rewilding doesn’t need to mean a drastic change. Any measure of rewilding is positive, even replacing a small patch of lawn. And, landscapers note that neighbors in close proximity to each other should be conscientious of how rewilding can alter the overall streetscape “look”.

But the overarching purpose of rewilding is powerful – it encourages the flourishing of local, natural ecosystems and mitigates the effects of habitat loss and climate change.

Informed by “Lawns Gone Wild”, by Jessica Flint, Wall Street Journal, September 15, 2023, and “For Water Quality: Creating Woods Instead of Lawns”, PennState College of Agricultural Sciences, January 7, 2020. Photo attributed to RAIN DOG DESIGNS, Gig Harbor, WA.