Green Spaces: More Than Just a Pretty Place

“I just spent $15,000 on my new landscape to save $40 a month on my water bill!” Seem efficient to you? It’s a question worth asking, especially as more communities across the country are encouraged to change their landscapes in pursuit…

Sponge Cities: Designing for Drought, Flood, and Fire in a Changing Climate

As climate extremes become the new “normal”, cities must do more than just make space for people—they need to absorb water, heat, and unexpected environmental conditions. With worsening floods, longer droughts, and wildfires creeping into…

How to Maintain Sustainable Turfgrass

Turfgrass is often criticized in water conservation conversations. I’ve seen it everywhere from media headlines to municipal rebate programs and the message is clear. If you want to save water, rip out your lawn. But is grass really the villain…

Irrigation System Maintenance: The (Most) Cost Effective Way to Save Water

For many ornamental landscapes, the easiest path to water savings isn’t the addition of new irrigation technologies or the removal of turfgrass—it’s simply fixing what’s already there. Studies have shown that 30-60% of irrigation water…

Nature is Our Neighbor

Parks, green spaces, and urban landscapes are not just pretty or pleasing to the eye, they are vital to health and community well-being. We know, for example, that people living near green spaces have a 55% lower risk of developing psychiatric…

Green Spaces are Cool (Spaces)

Summer temperatures in the United States have been getting hotter since 1970 with city temperatures increasing more quickly than adjacent rural areas. And since 80% of the U.S. population lives in cities, this trend affects the majority of Americans…

Colorado HB 1113 Expands Uses for Low Input Turfgrass

During the 2025 legislative calendar a bill in Colorado was introduced to limit the amount of turf that can be installed on multi-dwelling and residential property.   The legislation “Limit Turf in New Residential Development” (HB 1113)…

Utah SB 305 Dramatically Broadens Definition of “Functional Turf”

During the 2025 legislative calendar a bill to address “Water Wise Landscaping “ (SB 305) was introduced by Senator Keven Stratton on  February 19th and referred to Utah State Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment.…

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