Robbins gives ideas on how to manage water use during spring and summer
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Paul Robbins
By Amber Hayden
MENOMONIE — With spring and summer around the corner, the sounds of lawn mowers and sprinklers will be in full effect for residents. But how do we manage our water use throughout the two seasons?
Paul Robbins, dean of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, gave a presentation at the Red Cedar Watershed Conference, March 12, to discuss and give ideas on how to manage water usage.
Robbins has experience as a researcher and educator, specializing in human interactions with nature and the politics of natural resource management. He has a master’s degree and doctorate in geography, and a bachelor’s degree in anthropology both from Clark University.
National Study
In a recent study that Robbins and his colleagues conducted in Franklin County in Ohio, residents did not think about how pesticides affected their own animals or other residents of the area.
“If you do something with your land, you could directly affect the watershed,” Robbins said.
He also explained that a vast majority of grasses used are all exotic species and perennials, giving examples such as Bermuda grass that is from Africa and Kentucky bluegrass from Europe.
Robbins went on to explain that as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) learns more about chemicals, the more chemicals that are being banned.
He discussed that in the 1960s, the chemical dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) was banned after being known as a wonder-chemical to reduce pest problems large or small. This ban came after the EPA discovered the health concerns, along with it being hard on wildlife, that came with the usage of DDT.
“People couldn’t tell you how much they were using on their lawns, they didn’t even know” he stated. “The EPA, however, does not ask how much you are using, they ask to see what chemicals you have.”
One example Robbins used involved the city of Las Vegas, stating that city officials have begun to buy back turf grass from residents by the square yard.
The mentality of residents is if one bag is good, two bags must be better, according to Robbins.
“Most residents felt bad about using the chemicals,” Robbins explained. “The negative effect is that they are not likely to think chemicals are bad for people and the environment.”
Fixing the problem
The question then becomes, how can it be fixed?
“People can say they want a change, and this would have a quick and positive turn-around,” said Robbins.
Robbins broke it down into two groups, do it yourselfers and hiring a company, that included the wealthy, higher house values, or knowing your neighbors by name.
But it all came back to seeing what their neighbors are doing, and following suit.
“People do not treat their lawns as private property,” he stated. “They see them as a public good.”
The industry as a whole uses too many chemicals, but they also know that people are in search of an alternative.
Robbins suggested that people come together and have a collective community discussion on how to change their practices.
“Collective is better than going at it alone,” Robbins stated. “I’m not saying everything is doom and gloom.”
A majority, or 40 percent, use a non-chemical or organic treatment, according to Robbins, with a quarter of the people surveyed having replaced part of their lawn with a different land cover.
“We have to find a way to deal with the pressures that come with situations we don’t like,” Robbins stated. “We have to find a way to turn that pressure on its head into situations we do like.”
In the end Robbins stated that communities needed to take responsibility for their watersheds.
Herbicides are a necessary evil though, as they continue to help flowers grow without the invasion of large or small pests.
Pesticides are also needed to help take care of competitors that continuously are eating at the lawn, Robbins explained during the Q&A portion of his presentation.
“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.
