Two teen interns helped GreenTown Los Altos develop a Lawn Be Gone resource page for local residents interested in converting their lawns to a drought-tolerant landscapes.
St. Francis High senior Hannah Cushing and Mountain View High senior Naina Srivastava spent the summer conducting a case study on drought-tolerant landscaping, native plants and water rebates as a part of GreenTown’s summer internship program. Their aim was to provide residents with all of the information they need to implement a beautiful and biodiverse drought-resistant garden.
“Our goal for the case study was to promote the idea of drought-tolerant landscaping to residents,” Cushing said. “Now is the best time to convert your gardens because of the drought status in California.”
Cushing and Srivastava began the process by interviewing local residents who had already converted to drought-tolerant landscaping to better understand the process and explore the types of plants that thrived. From there, the interns spoke with both native plant consultants like Nikki Hanson, who headed the new drought-tolerant garden at Los Altos’ Woodland Branch Library, and local water experts who guided them in understanding the various rebates available to those making the switch from a lawn.
The team found that whether homeowners financially benefit from switching to drought-resistant gardens depends on their personal choices. Water rebates may not offset the cost of engaging a professional landscaping service, but they could make a substantial difference for those going the doing-it-yourself route.
“Rebates might not make much of a difference if you are getting professional help, because you’re spending so much money already,” Srivastava said. “But then again, choosing between getting professional help and doing it yourself comes down to things like: Are you interested in spending time on training? Do you enjoy gardening? Another difference with professional help is that it eliminates some of the trial-and-error process.”
Santa Clara County is one of 29 counties in California experiencing severe to exceptional drought conditions, meaning reducing residential water consumption is imperative to fight shortages. According to a study by the UC Cooperative Extension, 40-60% of residential water is used for landscaping. Replacing lawns with drought-tolerant plants is considered a short- and long-term solution for reducing water use.
Connecting with the community
Both Cushing and Srivastava were interested in environmental action before joining GreenTown’s summer internship program. Srivastava had previously worked with the grassroots organization on the Planting the Paseo project, a collaboration with the group E3 Youth Philanthropy to create planter boxes featuring drought-tolerant plants that are now used to educate residents about reducing landscape water. Cushing, whose mother is an environmental studies professor at San Jose State University, grew up absorbing her mom’s passion for water conservation.
Srivastava was particularly drawn to the project because it aligned with her skill set. As co-editor-in-chief of the Oracle at Mountain View High and editor-in-chief of the Midpeninsula Post, she was excited to apply her skills as a writer and interviewer to the position.
Both Srivastava and Cushing found the most rewarding part of the project to be connecting with their community.
“My favorite part was getting to know the residents, because these are people I wouldn’t have talked to otherwise,” Cushing said. “But then I got to see a part of their lives – their garden – and when we talked to them, you could tell they really cared about what they were doing.”
“I think it’s always nice to hear people talking about things that they love,” Srivastava added.
To read the case study and for more information on drought-resistant landscaping, visit greentownlosaltos.org/surviving-the-drought.
