Landscaping Awards Program
Are you interested in trying a different approach to lawn care that would mean less work and pollution while providing more beauty and wildlife habitat in your backyard or corporate lawns? Enroll today in APCD's Lawn Care for Cleaner Air program and see how you can make changes that benefit air quality and the quality of your life. We also want to recognize your efforts at home and at work with our Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Awards Program. Spring and fall are ideal times to begin converting your existing lawn. Spring is always a good time to re-landscape. In the fall, plants put in the ground then can better survive the colder temperatures in the winter and thrive during spring and summer months. Once plants are growing well, mulching will help keep moisture in and weeds out.
Operating a typical (4 HP) gasoline-powered lawnmower for one hour produces as much smog-forming hydrocarbons as driving an average car almost 200 miles under average conditions (more than the distance from Louisville to Nashville). Gasoline-powered string trimmers are actually more polluting than lawn mowers. (Find out more!)
Likewise, chemicals that fertilize and kill weeds may impact air and water quality, increasing the health problems for any of us with breathing problems.
Well, get ready to change your way of thinking on the subject of lawns! APCD invites you to welcome the concept of Lawn Care for Cleaner Air to our community.
The MSD Headquarters in Louisville used native plants to replace the grass.
What in the World is "Lawn Care for Cleaner Air"?
"Lawn Care for Cleaner Air" includes various types of landscaping that visually enhance the property with very minimal use of gasoline-powered equipment such as lawn mowers, string trimmers, leaf blowers, etc. It may include the following types of plants and alternative techniques, including combinations of plants and materials:
- Native grasses and wildflowers
- Ground covers
- Shrubs and trees
- Perennials and other flowers, and decorative grasses (that do not need mowing)
- Rock gardens, Japanese-style gardens, and decks, but with a minimum of paving or other heat-absorbing materials
- Electric or human-powered equipment
And, ideally, composting would be incorporated into the landscaping plan.
Why don’t we sweep the misconceptions from everyone’s mind about alternative lawn care.
The Lawn Care for Cleaner Air concept does not mean neglected, weedy, or unkempt properties!
Find out what else "Lawn Care for Cleaner Air" is not.
How do you convert a traditional lawn to a low-maintenance green space that qualifies for the Lawn Care for Cleaner Air award?
In order to encourage more creative green space landscaping of homes, businesses, parks, faith-based organizations and schools that minimize the use of gasoline-powered lawn maintenance equipment, the Air Pollution Control District recognizes and promotes them with
Lawn Care for Cleaner Air Awards
This “no-mow” hillside garden is easier to maintain than grass.
Lawn Care for Cleaner Air awards are made to homeowners, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations, parks, non-profit organizations, government agencies, and other landowners who use landscaping that uses minimal gasoline-powered maintenance equipment. Electric and human-powered equipment such as reel lawn mowers are acceptable maintenance tools for Lawn Care for Cleaner Air landscaping. Award nominations may be made by anyone; self-nominations are welcome.
What kind of emission savings have these Lawn Care for Cleaner Air award winners amassed? The average yearly savings, and the cumulative savings for the amount of time each award winner has maintained their lawn with minimal gasoline power are summarized each month.
See lists of winners and emissions savings statistics.
Nominations include a narrative description of the types of plants used, the maintenance activities and equipment used, composting activities, and picture(s) of the vegetation, which may also include maintenance equipment/techniques. Comments or letters of support from others may be included. Nominations or questions may be sent to Lawn Care for Cleaner Air, Air Pollution Control District, 850 Barret Ave., Louisville, KY 40204, 574-5322, or e-mailed.
You can print out the Lawn Care for Cleaner Air award nomination form in PDF or LCCA Nomination form in Microsoft Word or submit a nomination by e-mail.
- Awards will be determined by an APCD staff committee, which may include outside consultants, and will be presented at the monthly Air Pollution Control Board meetings or mailed to recipients.
- Awards will consist of certificates suitable for framing for indoor or outdoor display.
- Pictures of award-winning properties will be displayed on the APCD website by zip code. Recipients may choose whether pictures and addresses of their properties are published on the APCD website.
- Awards given to business properties are given without regard to permits, regulations, enforcement, or fines activity by APCD staff. The awards do not reflect any endorsement of the company, its products, or practices.
Links to Other Natural Landscaping Sites and Resources
E-mail us, call us at 574-6000 with questions, comments or information, or mail to Lawn Care for Cleaner Air, Air Pollution Control District, 850 Barret Avenue, Louisville, KY 40204-1745.
Notes
1. Lawn maintenance equipment—lawn mowers, string trimmers and other hand tools that are powered by gasoline—have been identified as major sources of the pollutants that contribute to high ground level ozone. In fact,
One hour of gasoline-powered lawn mower use produces emissions of:
353 grams (0.78 lb) VOC,
1038 g (2.3 lb) CO,
0.68 g (0.002 lb) NOx,
2.92 g (0.006 lb) PM, and
1950 g (4.3 lb) CO2.
Emission rates developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Transportation and Air Quality, Ann Arbor MI.
Assumptions:
- Lawnmower uses 4-cycle engine.
- Lawnmower is using 2.25 horsepower on average.
- String trimmer uses 2-cycle engine.
- String trimmer is using an average of 0.75 hp.
2. “No-mow” and “creative greenspace” do not mean no maintenance. There is always some maintenance to be done with any type of landscaping design, but “Lawn Care for Cleaner Air” will have
- Less maintenance than traditional landscaping
- Minimal use of gasoline-powered maintenance equipment.