About What's Your Lawn Style
About What's Your Lawn Style
Follow the Water created the What’s Your Lawn Style? campaign in partnership with OSU extension. The lawn video series will help people manage their lawns with little to no chemicals using tips from OSU turf experts.
Why Lawn Care?
Our goal is to share sustainable lawn care information with homeowners in Oregon and Southwest Washington. Some people are forced to maintain a lawn due to neighborhood or homeowner's associations. Others may need one for the kids to trample. Some people just want a lawn, plain and simple. We're not here to judge but to share solutions that aren't dependent on chemicals. We teamed up with OSU Extension Master Gardeners to create lawn regimens to fit the needs of different types of people. The campaign was launched in June 2022 with commercials and digital ads, and the videos have already reached thousands of people throughout the Pacific Northwest!
What's the Risk?
A common misconception is that if a lawn care product is on the shelf, it must be safe to use. But the reality is many products have the ability to harm our water, as well as people and pets, even when used according to the label.
One of the most problematic products is weed and feed, which is a combination of weed killer and fertilizer. Weed and feed's primary ingredient, 2,4-D, is known to be harmful to humans, animals, and fish, and it’s been found at harmful levels in our waters. This product is designed to be applied all over the lawn, even where there are no weeds, causing more risk for runoff. And turf experts note: the best time to kill spring weeds is not the best time to fertilize.
Our Lawn Commericals
We created a series of short commercials to catch the attention of people in our region searching for lawn care tips on the internet. We also shared posts on Follow the Water's social media about the campaign and lawn alternatives to invite our followers to consider the issue.
The commercials are available to share with local partners and people interested in reducing the use of lawn chemicals, such as weed and feed products.
How Do Lawn Products Pose Risk?
Despite being widely available on store shelves, many products pose risks—even when used according to the label.
When selecting products, look for the signal words on labels that indicate the level of risk. CAUTION and WARNING indicate less risk, while DANGER or POISON indicates the highest risk.
Because of these risks, many lawn & garden product labels state, “Do not let the product enter waterways or storm drains.”
More Resources for Lawns and Lawn Alternatives
Installing or Renovating a Lawn
Conserving Water
- Ecolawn: Less Work and Water
- Water-wise Gardening in Central Oregon
- Tips for Water Conservation
- Medford Water Commission Lanscaping and Irrigation Resources
- OSU Lawn Watering Guide for Eastern Oregon
Pollinator-Friendly Lawn Care
General Garden Advice
This effort is built on the work of many organizations across Oregon and Southwest Washington, including local governments, non-profits, and businesses committed to clean water in Oregon and Southwest Washington.