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Why you should kill your lawn

June 15, 2026 · 21 min

Show notes

(Jessica Cornelison / KCUR 89.3)

All summer long, we run mowers over our lawns to keep them the perfect height — and run sprinklers to keep them emerald green. Add fertilizer and weedkillers into the mix, and it’s a real resource drain. But there’s something else about lawns: They’re inhospitable to most wildlife. Celia joins Marielle Segarra on NPR’s Life Kit to explain how to push back against American lawn culture by killing a small patch of grass and turning it into a wildlife friendly garden.

The episode was reported by Celia Llopis-Jepsen and Shahla Farzan, and hosted by Marielle Segarra. It was produced by Sylvie Douglis and edited by Shahla Farzan and Neela Banerjee.

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