Winter is just around the corner, and that’s a reminder that spring landscaping plans aren’t far behind. As you consider what to do differently next year, think about creating a truly healthy lawn – a lawn that’s environmentally friendly as well as healthy for pets, children and wildlife.

You may think your lawn is not important in the big scheme of protecting the environment or being eco-friendly. But consider this: When added up, all of the lawns across the United States would cover the state of Ohio.

Needless to say, that much natural turf grass requires a lot of water, pesticides and fertilizers.

“How we manage our lawns affects the health of our children, pets, wildlife and water quality,” according to Lynn Markham, a land use specialist with the Center for Land Use Education at the University of Wisconsin.

Markham suggests three steps for creating a lawn that’s healthy of the environment and for your pets and family. NewGrass® couldn’t agree more.

Avoid using pesticides. Pesticides are potentially harmful to children, pets and wildlife. Also, they can be tracked into the house or leach into the groundwater. NewGrass® requires no pesticides if it has been properly installed and the base material properly prepared.

If you must fertilize, avoid phosphorus. Phosphorous accelerates algae growth in lakes and rivers, and lawn fertilizer is a major source of phosphorous in our waters. Markham writes that fertilizing the lawn of a typical half-acre lot could add more than 50 pounds of phosphorous to that yard each year. Eco-friendly NewGrass® of course requires no fertilizer at all. In addition, it is lead-safe, and 100% recyclable with polyethylene blades and a bio-based backing.

Get small. Reduce your turf grass footprint. Plant more trees, shrubs, wildflowers and tall grasses, and consider installing synthetic lawn particularly in areas that are hard to maintain or require unusually high amounts of water, pesticides or fertilizer.