WEBINAR — Why Not Lawns? (Well, I’ll tell you…)

Lawns contribute substantially to climate change, air and water pollution, the extinction crisis and many other serious environmental problems. They also cover vast areas of the United States. In this presentation, Dr. Emily Roberson, director of the Native Plant Society of the United States, presents data on the surprisingly large scale of lawn-related environmental damage, as well as costs and labor. She also discusses the growing movement among municipalities, states, and local communities to replace lawns with more environmentally friendly landscaping with native plants. She provides examples of new and proposed laws and other initiatives which support that movement. We hope this information will offer viewers new insight into the problems with lawns and ideas for ways to address these problems in their local areas.

Speaker

Emily Brin Roberson is the director of the Native Plant Conservation Campaign. Previously, she was Senior Policy Analyst for the California Native Plant Society. She then directed the Campaign as a project of the Center for Biological Diversity before launching the Campaign as an independent organization. She holds a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude in plant ecology from Harvard University, a M.S. in soil science from UC Davis, and a Ph.D. in soil microbial ecology from UC Berkeley. She worked as a researcher in the plant and soil sciences for 10 years before joining CNPS in 1993.