It is a term that has multiple meanings but in this case, we’ll be referring to the outdoor spaces. You may have seen the term pop up in news articles in the context of a yard being naturalized, however there’s been concerns that the practice of naturalizing one’s yard does not conform with often outdated municipal policy. It’s been a contentious debate that’s been happening behind the scenes in many municipalities across Canada in recent years. It all began with a well-known case in Toronto during 1996 where the municipal policy was challenged in an Ontario courtroom after a resident was found to have “excessive growth of grass, and weeds”. The fifty dollar fine was challenged as the resident felt it violated their Charter right to freedom of expression. In short, the judge had ruled that the bylaw did indeed violate the Charter and that the municipality’s vagueness of terms or definitions were unenforceable and therefore invalid.
Today, the majority of municipalities choose to enforce a height restriction between 20-25 cm (about 8-10 inches) contained within a managed lawn space. While gardens are exempt, most definitions written in these bylaws are still somewhat vague as to what types of vegetation are allowed within that identifiable lawn space. There’s often a paragraph that aims to describe what a weed is which most of us have varying interpretations of what a weed actually is. Weeds are often described as any unwanted plant that begins to grow between the plants we intentionally placed, or may look undesirable and can spread too easily. It’s also a plant we may not know what it is so it’s automatically categorized as a “weed”. They are usually blamed as being the culprit contributing to allergic reactions. It’s the Ragweed, not the Goldenrod!
Most lawns across North America consist of non-native turfgrasses that form a dense mat of short “stubble” that has little ecological value. It is grown for appearance only. For us, we are obsessed with maintaining these green carpets, often investing thousands of dollars into the space from growing it, maintaining it, spraying chemicals on them and then playing on it. These areas are for our benefit but don’t necessarily benefit the natural world around us. That’s fine. Although we should probably be conscientious of what we do and not be greedy.
Naturalization can be similar to planning a garden but with less maintenance. It can be easy if you want it to be. It also requires a coordinated effort to obtain your desired vision. The goal is to incorporate better ecological value to your property by utilizing a combination of natural materials such as native plants, fallen tree logs, rocks, unraked leaves and making use of rainwater. You want to manage any invasive species that may be destructive and interfere with your naturalization process. Unfortunately it’s not as simple as deciding to refrain from mowing the lawn because in the end, you’re still stuck with your overgrown turfgrasses.
You don’t have to “go wild” on your entire property either. And you don’t have to do it all in the same year. Plan it in stages. Pick smaller areas that you think will be most effective. Be sure to take notice of the changes. Are you seeing more birds, insect species and other wildlife? Maybe you’ll notice other perks like a place to pile that snow, or the gravel driveway doesn’t get washed out or full of ruts as easily.
Not everyone will want to make life easier by naturalizing a yard. That’s okay too. It doesn’t matter what side of the fence you’re on towards the concept of naturalization. It’s important that we don’t stigmatize naturalizing as a negative impact due to false beliefs and fear-based reactions. If you’re someone that happens to be observing your neighbour beginning a naturalization project, there is nothing to worry about. The benefits could help you and your property by inviting more birds to your winter feeder and seeing new butterflies coming to the garden. What’s wrong with that?
Matt Thomson is a local conservationist based in Severn and enjoys engaging the community through citizen science events & activities. You can find him on Instagram or Facebook, @ardtreanature.
