We Need More Plants

On Tuesday, July 8, Professor Kelly Kopp came to speak at a meeting of the Alternative Garden Club. Her message was that as people are replacing their lawns with other types of landscapes, they should remember that living plants are important for our environment, and even grass can be waterwise when managed properly. Ms. Kopp is a Professor and Extension Specialist in the Plants, Soils & Climate department at Utah State University, where her research efforts are focused on landscape water conservation and sustainable turfgrass management. She described studies that are being conducted at USU on the water use of various types of landscaping and pointed out that most often the problem is not the type of landscape (e.g., grass) but that people overwater it. She also explained that plants and trees in urban areas can provide important benefits, such as lowering ambient temperatures and serving as carbon sinks, which gravelscapes, rockscapes, and artificial turf cannot. With our population growing and the urban heat island effect increasing, “we need more plants, not less.”