By: Bowen Wang

Imagine you walk through a street in a regular suburban town and beautiful ecosystems are sprouting in everyone’s front yards. Every yard is bustling with life — filled with bees and butterflies buzzing and even some deer munching on plants. Sounds great, no? That’s not the reality of all yards, however. Many scientists are trying to convince homeowners to change their lawns from just a layer of dull green grass to a layer of wildflowers and diversified plants that foster ecosystems. If everyone’s garden was like that, the earth would be blooming with flowers and trees, and local animals would constantly have food to eat.

In many countries, yards consist of fake grass, small trees, and weeds. That is very bad for the environment because fake grass cannot support any life – animals, like birds and deer, cannot live in it. Growing a wide variety of plants will help our environment a lot. Planting vegetable gardens would reach this same end, while also allowing the owners to eat the ripe produce, leaving the rest of the food for the animals to eat. These homeowners would also save the money they would otherwise use to buy these goods. Many of the trees that grow on people’s lawns and backyards support the environment because they can store the carbon dioxide that we release into the air while also providing cool shade in its majestic shadow.

These animals may be able to help us too. For example, many people consider spiders, cockroaches, ants, worms, etc. to be pests to us. But birds can eat all these pests, so by creating ecosystems in our yards, we prevent these unwelcomed insects from seeking refuge in our homes. Also, many things that we like to eat might include honey. Well, where does honey come from? Bees! If the bees have nothing to pollinate from, they cannot produce any honeycombs or honey. Growing these flowers could help make our yard look better and help animals get their share of their food too.

These plants can help us in many ways – from producing our favorite food to taking in our carbon dioxide to making our landscaping more beautiful, growing a diverse set of plants will help all individuals and wildlife. Planting gardens is much better than a vast stretch of fake or dead grass that supports no life at all. Plant a garden to help the world and make your lawn look pretty and turn it into an ecosystem bustling with life.

“If nothing’s eating your garden, then it’s not a habitat.”

– Sarah Buckley