By Sam Skopp
This past Saturday, Selva International and the Surfrider Foundation hosted a workshop in Westwood, teaching participants how to create a drought-resistant lawn.
Attendees were provided with all the tools they needed to tear out existing turf without chemicals, and plant a new garden with California-native plants that are water-conscious and ocean-friendly.
For the past four weeks, workshops have been held in hosts’ front lawns in two-week installments. Hosts received Lawn Be Gone services at a reduced rate in exchange for allowing attendees to participate and learn themselves how the process works.
Last week, attendees had removed an existing lawn. On Saturday, they learned how to plant a new environmentally-friendly garden.
Steven Williams, who’s the Sustainable Landscape Specialist for Selva International, explained that in removing a large tree the week previous, a drainage pipe that led into the street was broken. He and other participants took advantage of this, and instead of repairing the pipe, replaced it with a drainage system that would route excess water directly to the plants in the new garden.
When done right, these drought-resistant gardens won’t need to be watered during the summer, and will prevent water runoff into the streets that can direct dangerous chemicals into the ocean.
“We want to give something back to the birds and the butterflies,” Williams said.
One more two-week workshop will be held in San Pedro to conclude this series of events made possible by a grant awarded to them. For more information on how to get involved or plant a drought-resistant garden yourself, visit selvainternational.org.
