"From Grass to Groceries"
By Laura Belzer

The groundcover of choice for most American yards is a frequently fertilized, watered and mowed patch of grass. But some envision a different type of landscape: an edible one where low-maintenance plants such as leafy greens, onions, apple trees and berry bushes replace a manicured lawn. Many types of food can grow anywhere from suburban yards to urban street corners.

This is the inspiration behind Food Not Lawns, an organization with chapters throughout North America. The group transforms lawns and other underused spaces into productive gardens and educates community members about sustainable gardening techniques.

Aside from wasting water that could be used to grow food, personal lawns use 10 times as many chemicals per acre as industrial farmland, according to an excerpt from the upcoming book "Food Not Lawns" by Heather Coburn, a co-founder of the organization.

The fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides used to maintain grass pollute the groundwater, while lawnmower emissions contribute to global warming and health problems such as cancer, heart disease and birth defects. Coburn said she believes that using this space to grow healthy food without chemicals is more productive.

So Coburn and Tobias Policha founded Cascadia Food Not Lawns in Eugene, Ore., in 1999. The Cascadia group focused on planting community gardens for a few years and received a grant from the city in 2001 for a series of educational classes.The Food Not Lawns idea took seed and spread, with groups forming throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

"There seems to have been an exponential effect with people starting up groups with similar but various focuses in different parts of the country," Coburn said.

A group of Western students founded the Bellingham Food Not Lawns chapter in 2000. Bradley Pavlik, one of the group’s founders and an environmental education graduate student at Huxley College of the Environment, said they wanted to create productive community gardens, such as the one they planted in front of the Community Food Co-op. They also encourage community involvement in gardening, Pavlik said.

Pavlik has gone on to help found Plants Work, a group that teaches students in day cares and schools how to plant and maintain gardens. One recent service-learning project at Whatcom Middle School allowed eighth graders to plant two small gardens with native plants and produce, Pavlik said.

Dale Rothermel and Aviva Steigmeyer, Fairhaven College juniors and Food Not Lawns organizers, said that during the fall the group planted 15 apple trees throughout Bellingham and sheet-mulched two lawns, one on High Street and one on State Street. They planted low- maintenance plants such as kale, onions and apple trees in the gardens.

"I just see that you can be growing things to use in that space," Rothermel said.

Food Not Lawns is committed to planting foods that reseed themselves or are perennial, because they require little upkeep, Steigmeyer said. Kale is an example of a plant that reseeds itself; edible perennials include many types of berries, fruits, nuts and herbs.

Rothermel said she hopes Food Not Lawns will plant many gardens this spring and spread its message throughout Western and Bellingham communities through instructional workshops and speakers.

This summer Coburn will go on a national tour to promote her book. She will lead workshops and encourage people to start their own Food Not Lawns groups and to become passionate about making the best use of their space.

"It does take a little more work to maintain a garden," Coburn said. "But the benefits make up for the potential extra effort."