Some Americans Want Fewer Grass Lawns

The area in front of Janet and Jeffrey Crouch's house in Columbia, Maryland, does not look usual for their neighborhood.

Area di depan rumah Janet dan Jeffrey Crouch di Columbia, Maryland, tidak tampak seperti biasanya di lingkungan mereka.

That is because the Crouches do not have a grass lawn.

Itu karena keluarga Crouch tidak memiliki halaman rumput.

Instead, they have some small trees and many native plants.

Sebagai gantinya, mereka memiliki beberapa pohon kecil dan banyak tanaman asli.

Lawns are areas around a house or in a park that are covered with short grass.

Halaman rumput adalah area di sekitar rumah atau di taman yang ditutupi rumput pendek.

In recent years, support for replacing lawns with native plants has been increasing in the United States.

Dalam beberapa tahun terakhir, dukungan untuk mengganti halaman rumput dengan tanaman asli terus meningkat di Amerika Serikat.

The process is called rewilding.

Proses ini disebut rewilding (pengembalian ke alam liar).

In fact, the number of Americans planning to turn part of their lawn to native wildflowers doubled between 2019 and 2021.

Faktanya, jumlah warga Amerika yang berencana mengubah sebagian halaman rumput mereka menjadi bunga liar asli meningkat dua kali lipat antara 2019 dan 2021.

By 2021, it rose to 19 percent.

Pada 2021, angkanya naik menjadi 19 persen.

Paul Robbins is the writer of Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are.

Paul Robbins adalah penulis buku Lawn People: How Grasses, Weeds, and Chemicals Make Us Who We Are.

He said that most people would prefer not to have lawns.

Ia mengatakan kebanyakan orang sebenarnya lebih memilih tidak punya halaman rumput.

“But they feel that they need to have them, or that they can't do anything about it.”

“Tetapi mereka merasa harus memilikinya, atau tidak bisa berbuat apa-apa.”

He added that many homeowners feel they should have lawns to please their neighbors.

Ia menambahkan bahwa banyak pemilik rumah merasa harus memiliki halaman rumput demi menyenangkan tetangga.

It can be costly to keep a lawn looking good and green.

Merawat halaman rumput agar tetap indah dan hijau bisa memakan biaya besar.

But the Crouches had to spend much more money for the right not to have one.

Namun keluarga Crouch harus mengeluarkan uang jauh lebih banyak demi hak untuk tidak memilikinya.

People living in a house next to them complained to their homeowner's association, or HOA.

Orang-orang yang tinggal di rumah sebelah mengadu kepada asosiasi pemilik rumah, atau HOA.

The neighbors did not like that the Crouches did not have a grass lawn.

Para tetangga tidak suka karena keluarga Crouch tidak memiliki halaman rumput.

HOAs can make rules about the plants that homeowners in a neighborhood are permitted to grow.

HOA dapat membuat aturan tentang tanaman apa saja yang boleh ditanam pemilik rumah di suatu lingkungan.

Many HOAs require grass lawns.

Banyak HOA mewajibkan adanya halaman rumput.

The HOA ordered the Crouches to pull out their native plants and put in grass.

HOA memerintahkan keluarga Crouch untuk mencabut tanaman asli mereka dan menanam rumput.

However, they refused.

Namun mereka menolak.

“We knew we were doing things that were beneficial for the environment,” said Janet Crouch.

“Kami tahu kami melakukan hal-hal yang bermanfaat bagi lingkungan,” kata Janet Crouch.

She told VOA that it seemed wrong to put in only grass, which she called an environmental dead zone.

Ia mengatakan kepada VOA bahwa rasanya salah jika hanya menanam rumput, yang ia sebut sebagai zona mati lingkungan.

Lawns are called environmental dead zones in part because they provide no food or shelter for wildlife.

Halaman rumput disebut zona mati lingkungan sebagian karena tidak menyediakan makanan atau tempat berlindung bagi satwa liar.

They also do not support pollinators like birds, bees, and butterflies.

Halaman rumput juga tidak mendukung penyerbuk seperti burung, lebah, dan kupu-kupu.

Bee populations have been getting smaller in North America and may be getting smaller around the world.

Populasi lebah terus menyusut di Amerika Utara dan mungkin juga di seluruh dunia.

Ted Steinberg is the writer of American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn.

Ted Steinberg adalah penulis buku American Green: The Obsessive Quest for the Perfect Lawn.

He said there are other reasons that lawns are bad for the environment.

Ia mengatakan ada alasan lain mengapa halaman rumput buruk bagi lingkungan.

He said they require a lot of water and chemicals.

Ia mengatakan halaman rumput membutuhkan banyak air dan bahan kimia.

Large amounts of water can remove nutrients from the soil.

Air dalam jumlah besar dapat menghilangkan nutrisi dari tanah.

Steinberg said that after the water removes the nutrients, people buy even more chemicals to put on their lawns.

Steinberg mengatakan setelah air menghilangkan nutrisi, orang-orang membeli lebih banyak lagi bahan kimia untuk halaman rumput mereka.

Scientists say some of these chemicals might cause cancer and other health problems.

Para ilmuwan mengatakan beberapa bahan kimia ini dapat menyebabkan kanker dan masalah kesehatan lainnya.

Nancy Lawson is the writer of The Humane Gardener and Wildscapes.

Nancy Lawson adalah penulis The Humane Gardener dan Wildscapes.

She is also Janet Crouch's sister and the person who urged the Crouches to put in native plants.

Ia juga saudara perempuan Janet Crouch dan orang yang mendorong keluarga Crouch menanam tanaman asli.

The Crouches’ battle against their HOA took three years.

Perjuangan keluarga Crouch melawan HOA berlangsung selama tiga tahun.

They say they spent $60,000 fighting to keep their natural garden.

Mereka mengatakan telah menghabiskan 60.000 dolar untuk mempertahankan kebun alami mereka.