Spring came on time, and all the meadows began to turn green as promised.
But before that, the first "World's Ugliest Lawn" competition had just come to an end. Unlike the previous green lawns, this competition is a competition to determine which lawn has the most withered grass and the most lifeless.
You may be wondering, why compare to the "ugliest lawn"?
To save water, launch a competition for the ugliest lawn
In fact, this competition started as early as July 2022 on the Swedish island of Gotland.
Gotland is Sweden's largest island in the Baltic Sea, with a long coastline and one of the best-preserved medieval towns in Scandinavia, and was the setting for Hayao Miyazaki's animated film The Witch Courier Service.
Lonely Plane voted the best place to visit in Europe in 2017, and the Swedish island of Gotland, Sweden ranked second.
Every summer, the best season in Gotland, almost 1 million tourists come here. In the summer of 2021, Gotland received a record number of tourists and residents.
And a doubling population means more water consumption. This has put more water stress on the island of Gotland, which already receives very little precipitation in the spring, and drought and water resources have become commonplace. According to the OECD, on current trends, Gotland's water availability will decrease by 13% by 2050 and its water demand will increase by 40% by 2045.
At that time, water scarcity will affect many more people. So, how people recognize that groundwater can run out and change unsustainable water use behaviour has become a priority for the region.
At this time, the Gotland government "eyed" the lawn in front of the resident's house. Similar to most European and American countries, maintaining the lawn in front of the door is a daily routine for many residents of Gotland, and it is a cultural norm that has been formed over a long period of time.
But this requires a lot of water consumption, in addition to time and energy.
And so began a contest called "Gotlands Ugliest Lawn" (The Ugliest Lawn).
The competition was launched by the Gotland government and the creative agency Differ Agency, who wanted to get residents to join the ranks of water conservation in a fun way, rather than traditional preaching.
Contrary to the norms of green lawns in the past, the "ugliest lawn competition" encourages residents to compete for the deadliest, most yellow lawn.
"When we don't water a lawn for aesthetic reasons, we may be able to protect the groundwater supply," said the race organisers.
This year, a local resident named Marcus Norström, who won the championship, did not water the lawn all summer. The lawn turned brown, and some yellow grass stretched out and grew wildly.
"In the yard, you don't want to walk barefoot so as not to hurt your feet. ”
The jury quipped his lawn and said, "It's a truly 'bad' lawn that lives up to our expectations of the ugliest lawn in Gotland." It also demonstrates the commendable laziness of lawn owners and the shared care they have for our groundwater. ”
In addition to receiving a recycled T-shirt labeled "The Proud Owner of the Ugliest Lawn," the prize for Northröm included a visit from gardener and judge Sara Gistedt and her personalized advice on what plants to grow on the lawn and garden.
"Actually, we have to think not only about the plants themselves, but also about the kind of environment we can create for them," Gist often advises people to plant more drought-tolerant herbs such as oregano, thyme and rosemary, as well as rocks to shade the plantations to help the plants retain moisture.
The ugliest lawn is a playground for sparrows, dogs and bandicoots
The "Ugliest Lawn in Gotland" contest made people feel that it was normal for the lawn in front of their door to turn a withered yellow. And if your lawn has a new resident, even better!
By the following year, the lawn that the judges described as "a very 'ugly' and useless lawn – unless you're a sparrow" won the championship. There are many small dirt pits on the lawn, where the sparrows spend their happy summers, bathing in sand and mud, and getting along with the plants in nature.
Loading...
Winner of the "Ugliest Lawn in Gotland" 2023
"If the lawn is not perfect or green, we should not be embarrassed or ashamed", says Stina Östman, the owner of the ugliest lawn, rejoicing at her victory, even if her lawn is the worst. But it's an easy game to win because she doesn't have to do anything.
After the summer, the rain brought Stina's lawn back to luxury.
Unlike the champion lawn, which is popular with sparrows, the runner-up lawn, which is second-placed, is a playground for dogs. Lawn owner's dog loves to dig around in the dirt, so there are a lot of holes and bumps in the lawn.
Runner-up Madeleine Fagerlund's lawn
"Even though the neighbors kept complaining, at least the dog was happy. ”
©Bunge-Stucks
@bunge-Stucks, who was also one of the contestants, shared a photo of his lawn in June — a lawn at its most natural after a spring without rain. They collect water from washed vegetables and use it to water vegetables and flowers. But the lawn was never watered, but allowed to grow naturally on its own.
"But the good thing is that there are some weeds that can make the whole lawn look like there's still a little bit of green. ”
©gotlandsstina
©marcusnorstrom
©tallgarde
©erik.l.lindblom
That same year, the inhabitants of Gotland challenged the world to share photos of their ugliest lawns with people everywhere.
"A lot of people wanted to see something like that locally, so the idea of making it a global competition was born. ”
The organizers of the competition believe that Australia, the United States and South Africa can make a big difference in turf water conservation. After all, in the United States, where lawns account for 2% of all land, 3 trillion gallons of water are used each year to water lawns – the equivalent of drinking water for billions of people every year. If you look at it as a crop, it's by far the largest irrigated crop in the United States, consuming 60 percent of the average household water use.
Loading...
Sustainability activist Shailene Woodley and winner of the 2022 "The Ugliest Lawn in Gotland" challenges the world with a video of the Ugliest Lawn.
After the competition was issued, the first global entries received by the jury were from Berlin, Germany.
©thekingboroughcook
@thekingboroughcook from Kingston Beach, Tasmania, Australia, shared photos of their lawn on the final day of the competition (25 December). It was summer in the Southern Hemisphere, and she refused to water her lawn all summer, "We can't waste any more water, but I see sprinklers in public places and it makes me sad." ”
The eventual winner, Kathleen Murray, is also a resident of Tasmania. Her lawn was pitted by a bandcion, beating lawns from Germany, France, Canada, Croatia, Sweden, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
The prize was also a recycled T-shirt with the words "Pride Owner of the World's Ugliest Lawn".
Sanford, where Murray lives, is an area with no running water, which makes rainwater collected in tanks invaluable. If she and her four teenage children run out of water in the summer, they will have to wait about two weeks for the water to arrive in a tanker.
"We have limited water on our island, so we need to help each other save it. ”
Participating in the "Ugliest Lawn" contest makes water conservation more fun and frees people from the repetitive work of repairing the lawn on a regular basis, which often brings new surprises after the lawn grows unchecked.
Murray's lawn welcomed a bandicoot and a wallaby, as well as an echidna, and some chicks. The bandicoot is an animal that digs holes in search of food, digging around the lawn in search of tasty food, so much so that Murray's lawn is strewn with holes.
"Now my backyard looks like a real-life Hungry Hippo game. ”
Murray used to think the bandicoots were the "killers" that invaded her lawn, but now she finds that these critters have freed her from the labor of mowing her lawn regularly.
In fact, bandicoots, wallabies, bluetongue lizards and other animals come from nature reserves near Murray's house.
"I chose to make my abode an extension of the nature reserve because it's right next to the nature reserve", is another reason why Murray doesn't water her lawn, and like all mountains and meadows in nature, she believes her lawn can take care of itself.
©irene.lis
It's a joy to know that you're making a small difference and helping someone else (a small animal).
"It brings me a lot of joy to see all the critters now feel safe in my backyard and happily digging holes. ”
Water conservation doesn't have to be boring
"The 'ugliest turf' competition is a way to adapt to climate change and help reduce water consumption," said an OECD report, and it has sparked a wave of discussion about water use abroad.
For aesthetic reasons, many people use a lot of water every day to water their lawns. But as the climate warms, water scarcity has become a growing problem.
According to a 2023 data from the World Resources Institute, 25 countries around the world are already facing severe water scarcity, which account for 80% of their total annual water use and affect more than a quarter of the world's population.
By 2050, nearly 60% of the world's population will face extreme water stress for at least one month a year.
Unlike indoor water, most of the water used for lawn irrigation evaporates and is lost, in addition to 59 million pounds of pesticides and 1.2 billion gallons of gasoline for lawn mowers.
The intention behind "The Ugliest Lawn" is to raise global awareness of water conservation by changing the norm of green lawns, and to show the world that "sustainable behavior doesn't have to be boring".
In 2022, the "Goldland's Ugliest Lawn" competition, along with the city's other water-saving measures, helped reduce Gotland's water consumption by 5% compared to the summer of 2021.
Now, many cities around the world are paying attention to the Ugly Lawn initiative. In the early summer of 2023, there was also a similar "ugliest lawn" competition in Vancouver, where the government imposed watering restrictions to encourage people to reduce their water use. With the exception of a handful of violators on the green lawn, the vast majority of residents complied with the new rules.
People embrace brown lawns in the summer, and even parks are allowed to be brown.
©akraspojken-ola
"It's a gentle way to do nothing and you automatically become a climate hero," said Mimi Gibson, the organizer of the competition.
But it is also a reminder of how to adapt to existing conditions and the climate crisis. ”
Text: Radish Editor: She She Producer: Algae