Does the grass always
have to be greener?
Investigating the Relationship Between American Consumers and Front Lawns
Moker E.C. Klaus
This thesis explores "the American Front Lawn" as a means toward understanding
American consumer choices that negatively affect the environment. The objective
of the study was to gain insight into cultural and personal dynamics that produce
this environmentally "undesirable" behavior, to investigate how well consumers
understand environmental implications of lawns, to uncover situations in which
individuals have changed or might be likely to change their behavior, and to examine
educational strategies for effecting widespread behavior and/or value changes.
Aggregate lawn-care practices in the United States contribute heavily to environmental
damage. Lawn watering accounts for up to 30% of urban water use in the East and
as much as 60% in the West. Lawn grass occupies more land than any single agricultural
crop in the United States. Exhaust from mowers and leaf blowers and applications
of lawn chemicals aggravate air and water pollution problems. Landscaping alternatives
such as groundcovers, perennials, or drought-resistant grass mixtures, if chosen,
could confer benefits to both consumers and the natural environment. I used social
research techniques to explore this topic in order to yield a deeper understanding
of subtle dynamics than a quantitative study would allow. Tools employed for the
research were eight intercept interviews, one focus group, and ten in-depth individual
interviews.
A lawn may be for show, a place to play, an area in which to garden, a nuisance or simply something that was there when someone moved in to their house. The type of care a particular homeowner gives to his or her yard is a result of several factors such as free time, money, size of the yard, whether the house is brand-new or has existing landscaping. These variables fall into three general categories: circumstantial factors, perception or values, and knowledge. The exact combination differs for each person, such that the aggregate pattern of lawn-care practices in the United States can be represented as a continuum. One extreme would be an industrial lawn and the other an undisturbed ecosystem.
The strongest possibility for influencing lawn-care behavior through education exists by reaching the following audiences: gardeners, environmentalists, people in the midst of house transitions (moving, remodeling), children, and service providers (landscapers, lawn-care providers, architects). Appropriate sources of information and persuasive arguments will differ depending on the particular audience one is trying to reach.