Jul 30, 2023 12:12 AM
(This post was last modified: Jul 30, 2023 06:36 AM by C C.)
Is it time to decolonize your lawn?
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/a...your-lawn/
EXCERPTS: "What is a lawn but a statement of control over nature?” asks John Douglas Belshaw, a Canadian history professor at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C. “That’s a huge part of settler culture. [...] A backyard with a big lawn is like a classroom for colonialism and environmental hostility.”
[...] “Where the lawns come from is from the property ownership mentality, that we can own property,” says Jayce Chiblow, community engagement lead with Indigenous Climate Action and a member of the Garden River First Nation.
Speaking of plants she adds, “Our teaching is that those are our relatives and that we belong to the land. It’s an entirely different concept.”
[...] The rise of the lawn meant a decline in the biodiversity so relied on by Indigenous people. Even worse, settlers interfered with the environment by bringing invasive species over with them. To this day, some of the most popular types of grasses in Canada aren’t native to the land: Kentucky bluegrass, rye grass, tall fescues and even Canada bluegrass have origins linking back to Europe.
[...] A diverse and healthy lawn still requires maintenance; it just looks different from how our parents taught us to care for our yards.
“It is a cultural thing,” Mr. Kraus says. “There is this interesting comparison like, valuing diversity versus sameness.” (MORE - details)
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/a...your-lawn/
EXCERPTS: "What is a lawn but a statement of control over nature?” asks John Douglas Belshaw, a Canadian history professor at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C. “That’s a huge part of settler culture. [...] A backyard with a big lawn is like a classroom for colonialism and environmental hostility.”
[...] “Where the lawns come from is from the property ownership mentality, that we can own property,” says Jayce Chiblow, community engagement lead with Indigenous Climate Action and a member of the Garden River First Nation.
Speaking of plants she adds, “Our teaching is that those are our relatives and that we belong to the land. It’s an entirely different concept.”
[...] The rise of the lawn meant a decline in the biodiversity so relied on by Indigenous people. Even worse, settlers interfered with the environment by bringing invasive species over with them. To this day, some of the most popular types of grasses in Canada aren’t native to the land: Kentucky bluegrass, rye grass, tall fescues and even Canada bluegrass have origins linking back to Europe.
[...] A diverse and healthy lawn still requires maintenance; it just looks different from how our parents taught us to care for our yards.
“It is a cultural thing,” Mr. Kraus says. “There is this interesting comparison like, valuing diversity versus sameness.” (MORE - details)
