Mary & Emma are on a brief hiatus and plan to return next spring. Please enjoy this episode that was originally aired on 7/21/23.

Did you know that in this country, we have an area totaling the size of Washington State that is mowed lawns? Our guest is Owen Wormser, author of Lawns Into Meadows, who helps to weave people and the natural world back together through his work building regenerative landscapes. In this conversation, we discuss how meadows offer a compelling solution in a world where lawns have an enormous detrimental impact on our ecology and have wreaked havoc on our natural ecosystems. Owen was born and raised off the grid in rural Maine, surrounded by the natural world, with nature being his greatest teacher. Influenced by his study of horticulture, permaculture, organic agriculture, and ecology, Lawns Into Meadows is a how-to guide on growing your own wildflowers and native grasses. Owen offers approachable, simple steps for anyone and everyone to create sustainable and regenerative landscapes, starting with even a few square feet of land. 

Topics Discussed

• Connection to the Natural World

• Building Low-Maintenance Ecologically Focused Landscapes

• How Lawns Are Damaging the Planet

• Growing Up in Rural Maine & Off the Grid

• Living a Simple Life in a World We've Made Difficult

• Convenience & Its Impact on Lifestyle

• What Counts Toward a Life Full of Satisfaction, Abundance, and Fulfillment?

• Applying Academic Knowledge to Real World Practice

• Why We Want to Turn Laws into Meadows

• What Makes a Meadow a Meadow

• Dealing with Home Owner Associations

• Humans are Traditionalist

• Lawns & Status

• Steps to Start & Maintain a Meadow

• What to Plant in a Meadow

• The Lifelong Learning Process of Healing the Earth

• How Stillness Sustains Us

• Plants as Our Birthright

Episode Resources:

•If You Stop Mowing This May, Will Your Lawn Become a Meadow?

•Owen Wormser Massachusetts Department of Higher Education

•Lawns Into Meadows: Growing a Regenerative Landscape by Owen Wormser

•Lawns Into Meadows, 2nd Edition: Growing a Regenerative Landscape by Owen Wormser

•The Road Washes Out in Spring: A Poet's Memoir of Living Off the Grid by Baron Wormser

•The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art Bobbie's Meadow Museum

•Listen to The Good Dirt "The Urgent Need for Restorative Gardening with Mary Reynolds"

•Listen to The Good Dirt "Seeking the Wisdom of the Earth with Maria Rodale, author of Love, Nature, Magic: Shamanic Journeys into the Heart of My Garden"

Connect with Owen Wormser:

• Website: Abound Design https://abounddesign.com/

• Instagram: @lawns_into_meadows

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Original music by John Kingsley. Editing and podcast production by Fast Forward Production.