How's your Microclimate?
Last week I talked briefly about how your home is situated on your lot, the prevailing winds, vegetation, and sun exposure. In the language of “green” this is known as “Microclimate” and there are other parts to it such as the lawn itself. When we think of out lawns we often see them as nice evenly cut grass of some type.
There is another way to look at them, and that is as an ecosystem of their own. Our lawns are alive with all types or organism that is unless you have killed them with pesticides and fertilizer. There are organisms that break down the dead vegetation and return it to the soil enriching it. There are organisms in healthy soil that help to remove some of the greenhouse gases from the air. You should do all you can to improve the quality of the soil around your home. There are a couple of easy things to do! Go easy on the pesticides. Let some of your yard go back to its natural state. Instead of using fertilizer spread compost on your lawn to give it the nutrients it needs. Taking these action will lead to cleaner air in your microclimate and also help to bring your lawn back to a more natural state. When was the last time you saw a bird hunting for insects in your yard? Do you worry about your kids or pets playing outside? Do you know why it is required now for new homes to be equiped with anti-siphon faucets?....to keep what ever we have attached to the end of the hose from getting into the water supply, be it fertilizer or pesticides we are spraying on our lawns.
Here is some food for thought; grass is the most widely grown crop in the United States. We cultivate it, water it and harvest it (mowing) and then we in most cases throw it away. Would it not be better to recycle it? I mean after all you do have a significant investment there! You do have a choice! Compost it!