Lawn reform group encourages homeowners to trade traditional yards for greener alternatives

Reported By: Danielle Lerner

A national organization with roots right here on the Central Coast is encouraging homeowners to trade in their traditional yards for greener alternatives.

However not everyone is ready to let go of their lawn.

San Luis Obispo resident Bonnie Zandt is the first to admit she is in love with her lawn.

"I can't live in a house without grass somewhere," Zandt Said. "In the front, side or back."

Zandt's backyard has plenty of it, she says the green stuff provides hours of entertainment for the whole family.

"I enjoy this yard so much, my husband and I, that we don't regret a minute of putting it all in," she said.

You do not have to go far to find other lawn lovers.

Down the street Andrew Lunny is just as proud of his sprawling landscape.

"I think it looks gorgeous, especially when people drive into the neighborhood it's the first house they'll see on San Luis Drive," Lunny said.

It is mindsets like these that make Billy Goodnick's mission a bit tough.

As a founding member of the Lawn Reform Coalition he is trying to change the way homeowners see the traditional suburban lawn.

"We have to add water, that's very precious and getting more and more scarce," Goodnick said. "We're implored to use different types of chemicals and fertilizers and things that really aren't good for the soil in the long run."

The Santa Barbara resident insists he is not anti-lawn, just pro-environmental responsibility.

He has even gone viral, using a YouTube music video to educate others about alternative landscaping.

YouTube video aside Goodnick says he does not expect everyone to dig up, or totally eliminate their pristine patches of green.

So we took a walk through Bohnett Park in Santa Barbara and got an up close look at several green techniques you can use at home.

"Make it the smallest lawn possible and manage it correctly so go organic," Goodnick said. "A mixture of grasses that were put in by seed, there's also some native plants or sage in here which takes about 50 percent of the water."

If the environment is not your top concern these days, how about your bottom line?

Goodnick says there are also ways to make a reformed lawn work for you in the long run.

"Replace it with useful landscaping, pathways, patios, place to sit and read. Replace it with food, you're going to use the same amount of water but you get a return on your investment," Goodnick said. "It costs a lot of money to maintain a lawn whether you're doing it yourself or you're hiring a gardening service."

So as this grassroots movement goes national we could see more reformed lawns sprouting up on the Central Coast.

However that will not be the case at Zandt's place.

For her the lawn bond is simply too strong.

"Yes our water bill is a bit higher than I'd like it to be," she said, "but with all this that's the cost of having all this for us."

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