The calming sounds of bird songs and wind tousling leaves in backyards are too often drowned out by the blare of leaf blowers and other fossil fuel-powered lawn equipment. Because high-decibel noise and related pollution is known to be harmful to people, pets, and habitats, the nonprofit Quiet Communities (QC) has been working for over a decade to transition the industry to cleaner, quieter equipment and other sustainable practices. Now, through a partnership with Wild Ones, planting natives and use of manual lawn tools will be given even more emphasis.
Environmental health scientist Jamie Banks founded QC in response to loud noise and air pollution from gas-powered landscaping equipment in her own backyard in Massachusetts. As a scientist, she wondered if the noise that made her heart pound and sparked anxiety could be having a greater impact on her long-term health and on the health of the workers using the equipment day in and day out. Jamie’s research revealed that in addition to hearing and mental health issues, chronic noise raises the risks of cardiovascular disease, even heart attacks and strokes. And for children, loud and chronic noise has been shown to slow development and learning. Banks decided that the public and industry needed to learn about the hazards of noise and the availability of solutions. She began to research practical alternatives to fossil fuel-powered yard care routines and was fortunate to meet Dan Mabe, the founder of the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA).
Through a longtime collaboration with AGZA, the QC Quiet Landcare program helps municipalities, public school systems, botanic gardens, hospital campuses, golf courses, and other sites across the country transition away from noisy, polluting fossil fuel-powered landscaping equipment to quieter, cleaner electric tools and other sustainable practices. QC and AGZA also advocate for a chemical-free, lower maintenance aesthetic that incorporates native plants and water-wise practices, which are areas of focus for Wild Ones.
The AGZA Certified Green Zone program is a structured, multi-tiered program to help landscape professionals make an enduring transition to quieter, cleaner, more sustainable landscape maintenance. It employs a data-driven approach to establish, monitor, report on, verify, and then certify properties. The program provides education, training, equipment and infrastructure recommendations, economic analysis and metrics reporting, and property certification. The goals are to help landscape professionals understand the health and environmental benefits of a transition, choose the right equipment for each task, build safe charging infrastructure, optimize work productivity, and learn best practices including preventive maintenance practices, and achieve a timely return on investment.
QC and AGZA also run workshops to teach residents who do their own yard work and those who work with landscape companies about the public health and environmental benefits of making the switch to quieter landscaping. These workshops include setting realistic expectations during and after transitioning to low-impact, low-noise lawn care so consumers understand that maintenance with electric equipment and manual tools is most cost-effective when the aesthetic is less manicured and friendlier to pollinators. Ultimately, the goal is to promote what is really a cultural shift away from the unnaturally manicured yard that only chemical applications and grass-only turf can achieve.
To date, 45 AGZA Green Zones have been established in communities including South Pasadena, CA, and Mountain Brook, Alabama. The New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill in Boylston, MA, the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, and at hundreds of public school districts are also AGZA certified. “While our work at gorgeous properties like Tower Hill Botanic Garden draw public attention, AGZA and QC are aware of the importance of making landcare quieter for everyone,” Jamie said. “Our work with several public school districts in California has also been especially satisfying in creating a cleaner, quieter environment in which students can learn and teachers can teach, and healthier working conditions for workers. Everyone needs to benefit.”
As communities set goals for cutting carbon emissions, carbon pollution from landscaping is often dismissed as slight relative to sources like transportation and home energy systems. But the emissions add up. According to the Frontier Group, Norfolk County (pop. 725,531 in 2022) produced 63,182 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from lawn and garden equipment in 2020, the equivalent of emissions produced by 13,910 cars during the same year.
In addition, current practices produce ozone and fine particulate matter, a human carcinogen, as well as fuel spillage into soil and aquifers, threatening ecosystems and the health of those in proximity. Operation of battery-electric is emissions-free and the equipment is less apt to need repairs or require throw-away replacement parts. The technology is continuing to evolve and a battery recycling industry is starting to emerge. There are also new technologies on the horizon.
At the commercial level, a complete shift away from fossil fuel-powered equipment requires intention, time, and money. A homeowner may need to work with a gas landscape company for a few years to encourage use of battery-electric equipment and rakes, and to achieve a more natural aesthetic. Some neighbors choose to share electric mowers and other equipment, others purchase equipment for use by crews. Residents dedicated to making a change are encouraged to share their experiences with others, to lead by example.
To learn more about making a change in your community, reach out to [email protected] and consider becoming a QC member. Join us!
Tricia Glass is executive director at Quiet Communities.