ANN ARBOR, Mich — The cold, gray months of January and February are prime planning times for avid gardeners and landscapers who have nothing else to do but stare out the windows at their snow-covered yards. One person who wants to convince those armchair gardeners to rip out the exotic species they’ve planted and replace them with native plants is Bob Grese, an associate professor of landscape architecture in the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment. Grese directs the University of Michigan’s Nichols Arboretum, where he has been working to recreate a remnant of the prairie and savannahs that originally covered the Ann Arbor area in one portion of the 36-acre Arboretum. Grese, who on the personal side has created a prairie in the front yard of his own home in Ann Arbor, directs much of his energies to researching the work of pioneering landscape architects who advocated the use of native plants. He deplores the "lawn mania" which, he says, is very expensive to the environment. "Emissions from lawn equipment such as weed whips, lawn mowers and leaf blowers contribute about 5 percent of the total air pollution," Grese said. In addition, he says, the chemicals that we spray, spread or inject to keep all that grass green are polluting streams, rivers and wetlands with too many nutrients, helping promote an invasion of non-native plants and changing the water’s chemical structure. Instead, Grese advocates having just enough lawn to meet our needs (for games or other activities) and planting the rest with groundcovers. The challenge, he says is to find out which plants grew locally and will grow again without reseeding. "Native plants require less preparation and maintenance than exotic species, and they also provide food and shelter for native animals," said Grese, who has pioneered several local natural landscaping projects. "Using native plants is also a way of preserving and celebrating our local natural heritage, such as wetlands, prairies, savannas, and woodlands once dominant in Southeastern Michigan. In my mind, there’s a direct link between ‘native landscaping’ and broader conservation efforts." Grese (pronounced GRAY-zee) recently was honored by the Ann Arbor Chapter of Wild Ones, which created an award named the Bob Grese Deep Roots Award and made him the first recipient. Wild Ones is a national organization devoted to the use of native plants in landscaping. "Bob’s quiet but energetic leadership provides the tone for this organization," said John Lowry, current president of the Ann Arbor Wild Ones chapter. "He’s made a significant impact on both the community and its ecology." Bob Grese can be reached at (734) 763-0645 or bgrese@umich.edu.

The Wild Ones promotes the use of native plants in landscaping, the development of biologically diverse plant communities, and the restoration of natural areas that have been degraded by the invasion of exotic plant species, see www.for-wild.org.

The University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment supports the protection of the earth’s resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Faculty and students strive to generate knowledge, develop innovative policies and refine new techniques through research and education, see www.snre.umich.edu