Work now to change public ignorance of the value of lawn turf

Karen Connelly, executive director, Massachusetts Association of Lawn Care Professionals.

Turf professionals realize the importance of education. Beautiful and healthy landscapes would not be part of our shared experience without educated professionals. They're the professors, researchers, instructors, cooperative extension agents, lawn care professionals, landscape professionals, irrigation professionals, sales and marketing people, store owners, landscape designers, software designers, growers and magazine and newspaper professionals. A tremendous amount of combined knowledge goes into the establishment and care of lawns and landscapes.

Strangely, this doesn't seem to matter to some people. Or perhaps they don't know. There does seem to be a general lack of understanding of the facts when it comes to turfgrass.

How many times have you read news articles that include information that your education and experience tell you is wrong? Examples of these are not limited to those that claim that lawns are polluting the earth that lawns are the reason for water bans, that they cause runoff and that poison ivy should be mowed instead of treated.

Unfortunately this lack of understanding pervades our society. It includes legislators, homeowners, activists, unqualified applicators, school children, doctors, lawyers and the media. Although most people have lawns, they have little real knowledge of turfgrass, its benefits and its place in our culture. For this reason they're not able to know when people are making inaccurate claims.

All turf professionals are aware of the extraordinary amount of incorrect information that abounds in our country. One legislator made the point very clearly when she said, "Where are the Lawn Care professionals"? She had a folder two inches thick filled with absurd information from anti-lawn care proponents and the people who had only received their education from such literature. This legislator knew instinctively that healthy lawns were not "polluting the earth and our groundwater supply". She perceived that a healthy lawn should not be the color chartreuse, even though that is the color recommended in the literature. She thought that crabgrass did not provide the same benefits as turfgrass, but she did not have a file folder filled with documented facts derived from unbiased standardized university research as was finally being presented to her. The people distributing the incorrect information are doing a good job and having a real impact.

You have the benefit of years of turf education. Many of you have degrees in turf management. Many more attend seminars presented by professors, researchers and other professionals. If you were an accountant or teacher, a doctor or other professional and all you read or heard about lawns was negative, what might you think?

Much of the misinformation is funded using public money. In many states money is made available to community groups for the purpose of disseminating information on numerous topics. Once the money is obtained there is no mechanism for reviewing the information that is being distributed. Because official seals are printed on the literature since they were produced using the money, recipients believe the information is accurate. When one group prints a piece often other groups reprint or purchase the pieces and the distribution continues.

Newspaper writers do not always ask probing questions. An article appeared a couple of years ago in which an activist stated "lawns are hazardous waste dumps". The article did not cite this as an opinion. When questioned, the writer indicated that she had done no research on hazardous waste, she just wanted to start conversations. What type of conversations take place with no clear parameters?

How many people do you know who can properly define the word "physiology"? Turf professionals know the importance of turf physiology. The type of grass, the thatch layer, the root zone are all key components to why grass is such an efficient water and air purification system among other things. It is imperative to introduce people to this fascinating natural system.

Are lawns impervious surfaces? Can nutrients run off lawns and travel miles to a local pond? Does lawn fertilizer travel down river to nourish invasive species that clog our waterways? Can fertilizer travel through rock cliffs to feed algae in a harbor? These may sound laughable to the ears of educated turf professionals familiar with research, but there are many, including those who make or influence policy, homeowners and others who do believe this.

The images that people hold in their brains do not easily depart.

At the Q&A segment of a Lawn Care 101 seminar for watershed people given by a cooperative extension agent, a kind gentleman said this was a great presentation, but everyone knew that lawn fertilizer was clogging our rivers and eutrophying our ponds.

The extension agent asked him why he believed that. He said he read and heard reports of this all the time. The agent said that she too had read these reports, but in her 25 years as a turf specialist had never seen one bona fide study that supported such theories. The gentleman was honestly bewildered. He had trusted those reports. So do many others.

Lawns are a conspicuous user of water. Many people overwater their lawn. Many with irrigation systems are not properly programming these systems. Homeowners and regulators are not well educated in this area. Municipalities that post odd/even watering day policies can add to the problem. Water departments document that use goes up whether or not conditions merit. Irrigation and hydroponics techniques are available to all, but not extensively utilized. Are you educating your customers, your municipalities and your state officials on the benefits of these n ew technologies? Are people aware that dormancy is a natural stage?

Finally, how many of your employees, customers, their neighbors, the press, school children, your legislators and hair stylist know the many benefits of healthy turf? The answer is not enough. It may just be part of your professional obligation to start spreading the word about turf‚s natural water and air purification systems, erosion control, ability to provide a safe area for families and sports, natural air conditioning abilities, collection of dust and particles, fire prevention abilitites, mental health benefits, glare reduction, ground water recharge and beauty.

So, why is turfgrass so misunderstood? Because the majority of people perceive grass in a way that is not accurate. They feel more comfortable speaking with the kid at the hardware store instead of an extension agent or a trained professional. They read and believe community brochures with facts that might not have been confirmed. Some buy into the concept of tragedy lawns. Many do not know where to turn for accurate information.

It is becoming more and more apparent that you as licensed, trained and educated professionals must also serve as educators, not only to your customers, but to the public and legislature as well. Begin now with your training sessions and in your communications. You will be doing a public service.