All About Alternative Lawns

While grass lawns are said to have been introduced in America around 1870, it was in the 1950s that they truly became popularized. Three main factors are attributed to the cause of this: 1. The creation of Levittown saw thousands of lawns that must be neatly manicured come to rise; 2. The need for cheap housing to be built fast for returning GIs coupled with the societal mindset that a simple uniform lawn was ideal for those who had been trained in the ways of order and obedience; 3. The creation of technological and scientific advancements, such as rotary lawnmowers and fertilizer. But is this actually what’s best?

We now recognize there are many disadvantages of a traditional grass lawn when compared to planting a sustainable garden landscape. One drawback is that grass lawns are a monoculture - meaning a sole species across a given area - whereas sustainable lawns facilitate biodiversity by introducing multiple species into that same given area. Second, due to the fact that grass is wind pollinated, it does not serve local pollinators. Conversely, a converted lawn does because it provides a variety of showy flowers for insects such as bees and butterflies. 

Other advantages of converting your lawn include: encouraging groundwater recharge, increasing property value, and improved visual aesthetics. After plants’ two year establishment period, a drought-tolerant lawn saves 31 gallons of water per sq. ft each month VS its traditional grass counterpart. That’s 186,000 gallons saved over one year for a 500 sq. ft lawn! Furthermore, a study done by the City of Santa Monica’s Office of Sustainability and the Environment found that a sustainable lawn used - on average - 83% less water, created 56% less green waste (ie. weeds), and needed 68% less maintenance than a grass lawn. 

The benefits really speak for themselves, which is why it's part of our mission here at Our City Forest to bring these alternative lawns to the community. The Lawn Busters team utilizes a five step process called ‘sheet mulching’ to fully convert landscapes in just two days! It is a low-cost method that uses recycled cardboard as a weed suppressant. Drought tolerant and California native plants are planted in these lawns. To read more details and see if you qualify for their program, click on ‘Lawn Busters’ under the ‘Other Programs’ tab on our website. If you do not qualify, the team will be hosting DIY classes at the demo garden located in our parcel at Martial Cottle Park. Check our calendar here to find out when they will be offered!

Check out some photos of projects we have done below!

A lawn after 6 months of growth!

A lawn after 1 year of growth!

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Sources

City of Santa Monica. (2013, March). Sustainable Landscape The Numbers Speak for
Themselves.

https://www.smgov.net/uploadedFiles/Departments/OSE/Categories/Landscape/garden-garden-2013.pdf

Lawn Busters. (2015). Our City Forest. http://www.ourcityforest.org/lawnbusters

The History of Lawns. (2018, May 6). Planet Natural.
  https://www.planetnatural.com/organic-lawn-care-101/history/

The Palm Oil Dilemma: Saving Asia's Rainforests

Have you ever heard of palm oil products? Despite whether or not you have heard of palm oil, it is likely something you use or consume every single day, and probably several times a day. Palm oil can be found in many household products from soaps and lotions, to cereals and snacks. It is an extremely versatile oil that contributes to about half of the products one uses everyday. Unfortunately, the harvesting of palm oil is one of the leading causes of rainforest destruction in certain parts of the world. So how can we balance our needs with the needs of the world? Let’s take a look.

Palm oil is a vegetable oil that is harvested from oil palm trees. When compared to other vegetable oils like soy or canola, oil palms yield 4-10 times more oil per acre of harvested land. Because palm oil is grown more efficiently, and its derivatives can be used in so many products, the demand for palm oil has soared. Palm oil plantations have had to grow and expand to meet the rising demand for palm oil. Unfortunately, this has had a detrimental effect on local environments.

Oil palms grow best in tropical areas, so rainforests are often cut down to make room for growing plantations. Not only is the loss of rainforests detrimental to the global climate, but the expansion of palm oil plantations often leads to the displacement of indigenous groups as well. In addition, the local wildlife and plant species lose their homes and face major threats of extinction. Many animals like orangutans, rhinos, and tigers are only found in this region of the world, and if we do not strive to make the harvesting of palm oil more sustainable, we could see these species go extinct.

So what can we as consumers do about it?

One of the first steps to solving a problem is to learn more about it. To begin your journey of learning more about palm oil you can explore the products in your home. Take a look at the ingredients in products that you often use, or your favorite snacks and foods, and see if you can find palm oil or palm oil derivatives listed. This can be a little tricky because palm oil goes by several names, and it is used in the production of many ingredients. I have provided a helpful resource you can use to identify other names to be on the lookout for: Rainforest Action Network. The more you become aware of it, the easier it is to realize that palm oil is everywhere.

It is not realistic to boycott palm oil entirely. Not only is it more efficient to harvest than other vegetable oils, but it is also a major part of the economy in many countries in Southeast Asia. The loss of palm oil production could have devastating effects on the countries that rely on its production. Instead, the key is to make our production processes and supply chains for purchasing palm oil more sustainable. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, or RSPO, is an organization that encourages companies to re-evaluate their production processes and palm oil usage. The companies and groups that are a part of the RSPO have made varying levels of commitment to moving towards sustainable palm oil. Becoming a member of the RSPO is often the first step companies take to start improving the way they acquire palm oil. Many companies have also improved past this initial commitment and are well within the process of moving towards using sustainably sourced palm oil in their products.

While shopping, it is important for us as consumers to support the brands that are working to be sustainable. However, it can be very hard to research every brand and product on your list. Luckily, there are many organizations that make this process as easy as possible. A good first step is to look for certain logos on the packaging of products like the ones pictured below.  

These logos signify that the product has been evaluated by different organizations and that the product has met certain sustainable production standards. There are also smartphone apps that make it very easy to compare brands based on their palm oil usage. The “Sustainable Palm Oil Shopping” app created by the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado, is a great resource to use when you are at the store. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo researches the brands and companies for you, and rates them on a color scale so you know how committed they are to sustainable palm oil. A green rating is excellent, yellow is good, and orange is okay. You can use this app to search products and determine the best brands to buy from that support sustainable palm oil efforts.

What if your favorite products haven’t made the commitment to sustainability? Reach out to them! Let companies know that sustainability should be a priority. In addition to the shopping app, the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo has example letters that you can use to contact companies regarding their use of palm oil. They also have campaigns to reach out to large companies that haven’t made the commitment to sustainable palm oil yet.

In the fight for a better future, small changes can add up to make a huge difference. Joining the effort for more sustainable shopping is a great way to protect forests all over the world!

Interview with Tree Amigo Brandon Muliadi

Get to know more about one of our special Tree Amigos, Brandon! As one of our younger volunteers, we want to highlight his commitment to this organization.

What does it take to be a Tree Amigo? To become a Tree Amigo you must go through a 5 session training. The training consists of an overview of our organization, a community nursery work day, a community planting event, a tree care and stewardship class, and a Lawn Busters lawn conversion project. In this interview we talk about getting involved with OCF, serving the community, and other fun topics. 

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Ice breakers / Intro to Brandon:

1. If you could have any superpower what would it be?

   Telepathy, as long as I can turn it off at will. It seems like the most useful superpower.

2. If you could have one song play every time you entered a room what would it be?

   Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley

3. If you could live in a movie which one would it be? 

   DC and Marvel both have a lot of near world ending experiences. Okay the world ends many times in those universes so, uh, probably not those. There can’t be many others though. DC seems slightly safer though, so that one.

4. What do you put into the bowl first, milk or cereal? 

   I don’t use milk in my cereal at all. I eat it plain with a lot of water but I don’t put the water in my cereal.

5. What are 5 things you would want to have during a zombie apocalypse?

   A spear, cause it would actually kill zombies faster than a gun, several years supply of food and water, a tent, farming tools, and a lot of friends.

6. Tell me about yourself. Is there anything you want people to know about you? What grade you are in, hobbies, if you have any pets?

   I’m in eighth grade and my hobbies are aquariums and gardening. Oh and doing surveys, well, doing surveys for money. Oh and sport video games, I especially like puzzle games like tetris. I also play the flute. I’ve been playing for the past few years. I do have one pet. Well actually it depends how you look at it. I have a beta fish, six shrimp, and probably like 20 something aquatic snails in my aquarium. It's doing pretty well so far.

7. What inspires you?

   Being happy and making other people happy. And a person who inspires me? Maybe Stephen Hawking.

Involvement with OCF:

1. Do you have a favorite shrub/tree? Favorite tool?

   I don’t have a favorite shrub, but I have a favorite tree - the Monterey pine. Right now my favorite tool is probably a spade. I don’t do as much gardening on the ground nowadays. I used to do more but nowadays I stick to container gardening

2. When did you start volunteering with OCF and why did you choose to start volunteering with OCF?

   The first time I volunteered was maybe over a year ago for a Boy Scouts thing. Then I went back to volunteering with OCF for a Boy Scouts badge, but now I’m just doing it because it’s fun.

3. What is your favorite thing about OCF and being a Tree Amigo?

   Well, I Iike plants so mostly that. I enjoy planting plants, but I’ve also spent a lot of time just researching them.

4. What motivated you to become a tree amigo rather than serving as a volunteer?

   I think it was because it was on the website, the OCF website as a way to volunteer. There aren’t that many volunteer opportunities available, well there's actually a couple I think, and the Tree Amigos is just an additional one.

5. How are you enjoying the process to become a Tree Amigo?

   Well it’s pretty fun! But I would say that presenting a slide show over zoom is not as engaging as doing it in person.

6. How has OCF impacted you? / Has it inspired you to pursue a certain topic/career?

   Well I did do a fair bit of research for my blog posts like the one on the Monterey Pine.

7. Do you see yourself using the experience you’ve gotten from OCF in the future?

   Yeah I think I do. Gardening is something I’ve enjoyed my entire life and I think OCF will help me.

8. What advice/tips would you tell someone who is interested in volunteering (or becoming a TA) that has never worked with OCF before?

   Well I’d say volunteering is definitely worth it and the Tree Amigo program is pretty nice.

Thank you for all you do Brandon! We appreciate you!

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To learn more about our Tree Amigo program and how to become one: