Many of us here in Britain take pride in maintaining a lawn that is lush, verdant and weed-free. For those of us with gardens, feeding, watering and mowing the grass is a weekly summer chore. However, on the Swedish island of Gotland, they have very different ideas about lawn maintenance.
In fact, the less work the better is the ethos of the Gotlanders. The Guardian reports that they have just held their annual ‘Ugly Lawn Competition.’ The reason that the islanders compete for this unusual distinction is an attempt to save water.
Gotland, which is located in the middle of the Baltic Sea, is experiencing water shortages and has had a ban on irrigation for the past two years. As the climate changes and summers become hotter and drier in many parts of the world, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is looking at ways to conserve water.
The ugly lawn contest has been adopted in other areas of Sweden and also in Canada in an attempt to reduce water consumption, and the idea has been taken up with enthusiasm. Just as a well-kept lawn was once a token of pride, now a brown and barren wilderness is the ultimate status symbol.
The winner of Gotland’s top prize this years was Stina Östman. Judges described her lawn as “a very ugly and in no way useful lawn – unless you’re a sparrow”.
Stina said: “It was the easiest competition to win, I didn’t have to do anything. It’s always nice to win, even if you are the worst. We shouldn’t be embarrassed if our lawns are not perfect or green. I don’t feel ashamed – I’m happy to show the world – or at least Gotland.”
The runner-up, Madeleine Fagerlund, said: “I was a little bit sad not to win – it’s a really ugly lawn, it’s just sand practically. We had a really dry spring. I think I deserved to win – but actually Stina’s lawn was quite ugly too. The dog loves to dig in the dust, so there are a lot of holes and bumps, so at least he’s very happy.”
Johan Gustafsson, who works for Differ Agency, which does communications for the Gotland region, organises the competitions and told The Guardian: “Lots of people would like to see similar competitions in their local communities, and that is where the idea was born to make it a global competition.”
He added: “We wanted to make sustainability communication positive – it’s common to see negative headlines that make you feel bad. This is the opposite – the competition made people smile and they didn’t have to do a thing to participate, they could just relax and have a cup of tea. We think that also made it a success.”
Anyone from Lancashire to Lithuania can now enter the global competition. Ugly lawns may be great for the environment, but many people still enjoy the sight of neat and green grass in their garden. An alternative to having an eyesore or a water hungry grass lawn is to have artificial turf installed, which is low maintenance and hard wearing.
