by Jen Power

Created on: August 27, 2008

To define a sustainable yard, you first need to define sustainability. The Environmental Protection Agency defines sustainability as "meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." WordIQ.com has a more detailed definition: "Sustainability... is intended to be a means of configuring civilization and human activity so that society and its members are able to meet their needs and express their greatest potential in the present, while preserving biodiversity and natural ecosystems, and planning and acting for the ability to maintain these ideals indefinitely."

What exactly does this mean for your yard? Your first priority is to have a beautiful yard now the needs of the present. However, in order to be sustainable, you'd have to maintain your yard in a manner that doesn't compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and in a way that preserves biodiversity and natural ecosystems. There are a number of ways you can accomplish this, a few of which I will set out below.

One good way to preserve biodiversity and natural ecosystems is by landscaping with native plants. If you live in a relatively rural area, your yard will be contiguous with the surrounding habitat, rather than existing as a sterile island amidst a vibrant ecosystem. If you live in the suburbs or the city, your yard will exist as a habitat oasis or even as a wildlife corridor in the middle of miles of pavement. Naturescaping, or landscaping with native plants, is becoming a more and more important way of creating and preserving habitat as more land is taken up by sprawl and incorporated into cities.

An important way to keep your yard from compromising the well-being of future generations is to make sure your yard is one that takes up few resources, especially non-renewable ones. When you use less water on your lawn, more can stay in streams and rivers to preserve important fish habitat and more is available for drinking and food agriculture. Pick plants that are less thirsty and more drought-tolerant, and make sure to water when it's cool in the morning or the evening rather than the middle of the day. You can also invest in a drip irrigation system, which is more water efficient than sprinklers or watering by hand.

Other than water, you can also cut back on using gasoline and synthetic herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Gas is easy to cut back on avoid gas-powered mowers, leaf blowers, and weed whackers. Use

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