SALT

Smaller American Lawns Today

Smaller American Lawns Today, SALT, is a movement introduced in June of 1997 by Dr. William A. Niering, professor of botany at Connecticut College. The SALT mission is to incrrease the size of lawns in America by restoring home and industrial grounds to more harmonious, productive, ecologically sound and naturalistic landscapes. SALT offers an alternative vision of the monocultured lawn. As Dr. Niering wrote, “There’s nothing wrong with dandelions, there’s something wrong with people.”

SALT meets Wild Ones! This article by Kathy T. Dame appeared in the Wild Ones Journal, September/October, 2008.

_{Home of Allen Gauthier, Arboretum member and volunteer - photo courtesy of The Norwich Bulletin.}

Natural beauty can abound in one's own yard. In our annual SALT seminar, participants learned how to cut back on the size of their lawns and also to have beautiful, sustainable, and friendly home grounds as well. Once established, you will never want to go back to a boring, monocultural lawn!

SALT Seminars

2012- Gardening in a Changing Environment

The 10th annual SALT seminar will be on Sat., Nov. 3, 2012. Is there anything homeowners can do to fortify their home grounds to prepare for any environmental changes that may take place in the future? Experts in the field will share with you what they are doing now to maintain the sustainability of their land and what they have done when disaster has struck. They will show you how to make the best of a bad (or good) situation, and how to create lawns that will better withstand assaults from nature. Download the brochure.

2011 - The ABCs of Creating Your Own "Garden of Eden"
The 9th annual SALT seminar on Sat., Nov. 5, 2011, was an opportunity to learn tips from topnotch speakers in the field of naturalistic landscaping. Download the brochure.

2010 - Designing Your Home Grounds for Beauty and Sustainability

2010 SALT Brochure2010 SALT BrochureThe 8th annual SALT seminar on Sat., Nov. 6, 2010, for homeowners was an opportunity to learn tips from topnotch speakers in the field of naturalistic landscaping. Download the brochure.

2009 - Going Native in New England

The 2009 seminar with featured speaker Douglas W. Tallamy was most informative on the subject of using native plants to promote backyard biodiversity. Professor Tallamy, chair of the department of entomology and wildlife ecology at the University of Delaware, is the author of Bringing Nature Home - How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens.