Sustainable lawns - type of grasses

Grasses for sustainable lawns

There are varieties of grasses that are in use to have sustainable lawns.  In my previous blogs, I have mentioned that lawns are fast and cheap way to cover a large area of exposed land. Lawns can be found in residential houses, business complexes, industrial complexes, roadsides and many other places. One of the main functions of lawns is to cover the exposed areas of the land, prevent erosion and protect the environment. Lawns also have many other functions: control dust, keep the area cool, create a safe play area, increase property value, and many other functions. Lawns should be managed in an environmental friendly way to control pollutions like Non-Point Source (NPS).   (http://siddas1346.blogspot.com/2013/07/lawn-care-management-system.html)

Grasses differ from variety of ways, like fertility requirements, tolerance to heat / cold weather, shade, drought, salinity, pest and other.  Cool season grasses are used in the areas where it’s freezing winter and hot summer (http://www.scotts.com/smg/goART2/InfoHowTo/what-are-cool-season-grasses%3F/19500084///). 

Cool season grasses are like Kentucky bluegrass, Perennial ryegrass, Fine fescues and Tall fescue.   I will discuss the species of grasses that are widely used as cool season grasses. More information is available at: http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/pubs/Georgia%20Forages%20-%20Grass%20Species.pdf

Here are characteristics of few grasses that are commonly used in the Northeast region of the USA:

§  Kentucky bluegrass: Insect tolerance is none, fertility from medium to medium high, recovery potential is excellent, shade tolerance is poor, heat tolerance is fair, wear tolerance is fair, drought tolerance is good and establishment quality is slow.

§  Fine fescues: Insect tolerance to some degree, fertility is low, recovery potential is poor, shade tolerance is very good, heat tolerance is fair, wear tolerance is poor, drought is excellent and establishment quality is medium to fast.

§  Perennial ryegrass: Insect tolerance to some degree, fertility is from medium to medium high, recovery potential is poor, shade tolerance is poor, heat tolerance is fair to poor, wear tolerance is excellent, drought tolerance is good, and establishment quality is fast.

§  Tall fescue: Insect tolerance is to some degree, fertility is from medium to medium high, recovery potential is poor, shade tolerance is from fair to good, heat tolerance is excellent, wear tolerance is excellent, drought tolerance is excellent and establishment quality is from medium to fast.

§  Annual ryegrass: Insect tolerance is fair, fertility is from medium to medium high, recovery potential is poor, shade tolerance is fair, heat  tolerance is poor, wear tolerance is from fair to good, drought tolerance is poor and establishment quality is very fast.

Most of the time blends of grasses are made for the purpose of specific uses.

§  Sunny and low maintenance lawns:  A mixture of fine fescue, perennial ryegrass blend and Kentucky bluegrass blend could be used.

§  Sunny and high maintenance lawns: A blend of Kentucky bluegrass blend, perennial ryegrass blend and fine fescue could be used.

§  Shady and well drained lawns: A mixture of fine fescue blend and shade tolerant Kentucky blend could be used.

The White House Lawn

There are verities of grasses that are used to create  sustainable lawns.  The conditions and usages of the lawn will determine type of grasses needed to be used.

Lawn Care Management System

Lawn Care

Environmentally Friendly Way

Many houses in the USA have lawns.  It is a fast and cheap way to cover a large area of exposed land. Lawns can be found in residential houses, business complexes, industrial complexes, roadsides and many other places. One of the main functions of lawns is to cover the exposed areas of the land, prevent erosion and protect the environment. Lawns also have many other functions: control dust, keep the area cool, create a safe play area, increase property value, and many other functions. Lawns should be managed in an environmental friendly way to control pollution like Non-Point Source (NPS), which I have mentioned in my previous blog - Sustainable Lean Six Sigma. 

Grass is in the family of plants known as the graminoids, which consists of over 6000 species.   Some examples of plants in this family include rice, corn, bamboo, sugar cane and oats.  

Grass seeds are the beginning of a new plants.   The seeds germinate when the soil temperature is between 50 – 55⁰ F minimum.  The root of the grass absorbs water and nutrients, stores carbohydrate and is used to anchor the plant.  The grass uses its leaves for photosynthesis and transpiration.  The grass stem include tillers, rhizomes, stolons and crown, used for density, recovery and lateral growth. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grass  

Steps for start or maintain environmental friendly lawn:

v Test the soil to find the pH and quality.  The best soil far grasses should be little acidic around pH 6.0 – 6.5.

v Use right grasses for the particular condition, i.e., climate and site.  In the Northeast, the Kentucky Bluegrass is widely used.  Other grasses that are used are Perennial Ryegrass, Annual Ryegrass Tall Fescue and Fine Fescue.

v  Mow correctly: mow around 3” high and return the clipping. Mow when the grass is dry.  Make sure that mower blade is sharp.   Do not mow when during drought or very hot season – the grass is already stresses out.

v Seed or repair at the right time:  In the Northeast best time to seeding, aerating and fertilizing is from the end of August to the end of September.

v Try to water in the early morning and with conservation.   Too much water will replace air from the soil and grass could suffer due to lack of oxygen.

v Fertilization should be done very carefully, especially in an environmentally sensitive area. Moderate fertilization will create a good root system and over fertilization could create too much green.

v Lawn care management and pest control: Use an integrated approach.   Ask a professional for help when using pesticides; you must be extremely careful when using it in an environmentally sensitive area.

Environmentally friendly lawn care is a management system that protects our environment and provides us with healthy, stress tolerant grass, with an extensive root system of grasses.

For more information on lawn care visit:

http://extension.umass.edu/turf/publications-resources/best-management-practices

EPA & Brownfield

Brownfield Sites

What are Brownfield sites?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines Brownfield sites as:

“With certain legal exclusions and additions, the term "brownfield site" means real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.”   

Brownfield sites could be contaminated old abandoned industrial sites: old mill buildings in the North East, power plants, oil refineries, dry cleaners and other industrial facilities. Some sites may not be contaminated, like abandoned airstrip and warehouses.  According to the Environmental Law Institute, there could over 450,000 the Brownfield sites in the USA (http://www.brownfieldscenter.org/big/faq.shtml ).

Remediation of Brownfield sites and Funding Opportunities

The remediation of Brownfield sites are usually joint venture projects between the EPA, states and local communities, with the goal to reuse the Brownfield sites and to revitalize the local economy. The EPA has set four main goals for the Brownfield projects: protecting health and environment, sustainability or reuse the properties, promoting partnership in the communities and economic development in the community (http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/grant_info/ ). 

The EPA has many funding opportunities for the cleanup process of these properties.   State agencies identify the Brownfield sites and allocate the resources.    

There are four types of grant available through the EPA:

1.     Assessment grants:  Help to assess the sites, planning and community outreach.

2.     Loans:  Revolving loans or other funding for the project.

3.     Cleanup grant:  Funding for cleanup activities.

4.     Job training:  Grants for environmental training to the Brownfield local community.

More information about how to apply for the EPA grants could be found at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/grant_info/assess/assessment_factsheet.pdf

 Success stories of remediated Brownfield sites:

Paul E. Tsongas Center, University of Massachusetts, Lowell (Formally Paul E. Tsongas Arena)

Since 1800, this site was polluted with many contaminants like asbestos,

heavy metals, chlorinated solvents, polyaromatic hydrocarbons and others. 

The City of Lowell used the EPA grants to develop this Brownfield site into a sports arena and a site for major concerts and public events.  Now, this site hosts Tsongas Center – a $30 million sports arena opened in January, 1998.  It can seat 7,800 sport fans.  The outdoor lawn can also hold 3,500 people for outdoor festival and concerts.  

In 2009, University of Massachusetts, Lowell took the ownership of this arena from the City of Lowell.   http://www.lowellma.gov/depts/dpd/services/econdev/brownfield

Lawrence Community Works, Massachusetts

Union Crossing 1 is now a community of 60 affordable housing units.  However, before remediation, these housing communities were old mill buildings with soil and ground water contaminated with petroleum. Beginning as a foundry site, these buildings were converted in 1916, into a textile mill that was operational until 1950.    

Furthermore, this Brownfield site is also an example of how the EPA works towards the Principles of Livability: not only is this former mill used for housing, but it is also walking distance to major public transit.       

Funding for this project came from both the private and public sectors.   This project could create 125 – 175 temporary construction jobs and over 200 permanent new jobs, once completed. 

http://www.epa.gov/region1/brownfields/success/11/UnionCrossingSuccessStory.pdf

Union Crossing 1

The successful remediation of Brownfield sites requires the cooperation between the EPA, state and local governments and agencies, private organizations and the local community.  The remediation of Brownfield site could also revitalize the local economy.   Furthermore, there are many tax credits, loans, revolving funds and other financial help available to encourage the community and the private sector to get involved with the remediation of Brownfield sites.

Fully restored entrance door of the Victorian mill building once used as warehouse and sales office, Lawrence, Massachusetts