Edina Goes Green: A Community Education Project in Low-Input Lawn Care

The objectives of the project were to design and implement an educational campaign on low-input lawn care, measure its effectiveness, and use the information gained to develop a model education plan that other communities could use. Residents of Edina, Minn., a suburb of Minneapolis, initiated the project by expressing an interest in reducing the amounts of chemical inputs (fertilizers and pesticides) used on residential lawns. The program's educational goal focused on teaching Edina's residents about proper timing and rate of application of all lawn inputs, as well as cultural techniques for producing a healthy lawn. The educational campaign consisted of informational articles published in Edina's quarterly community magazine; the establishment of 19 demonstration sites in which volunteer homeowners worked with Master Gardener mentors learning low-input lawn care techniques; a WWW page where information about lawn care and the project itself was posted; and a public seminar conducted by a turf specialist. Two surveys (May 1996 and April 1997) were distributed, each to a random sample of 800 Edina residents. The surveys measured lawn care knowledge and current practices, attitudes concerning pesticide use and the environment, as well as the effectiveness of this educational program. Recommendations for other community educational programs will be presented.