Wild Potomac

Lawns to Life

A large gathering of people outside planting into a terraced hillside. The focus is on a woman with red sunglasses and a child in a yellow shirt as they both lean over the hole they are digging. The child is holding a small shovel, and the woman is smiling and watching him.

Our Lawns to Life program converts lawns into diverse habitats where people and wildlife can thrive together. The goal of Wild Potomac’s Lawns to Life program is two-fold: (1) contribute to the sustenance of both people and wildlife by creating spaces where people and wildlife can thrive together; and (2) give people experiences of meeting needs through gift transactions rooted in gratitude and generosity.

By selecting native species, we support a greater diversity of insects and birds, reducing the need for biocides and enabling a more balanced and resilient system. And by selecting perennials – instead of annuals adapted to soil disturbance – we improve soil health, reduce surface water runoff, and increase drought resistance.

Wild Potomac offers this work as a gift. That means that recipients are invited to decide on the return gift that feels right, taking account of all the circumstances, and are free to give nothing if that’s what feels right. The generosity that homeowners and business owners have shown through this project has been amazing. It inspires us, in turn, to continue giving to the communities and ecosystems around us.

A mother and her child sitting on a wall of stones smiling at the camera, on either side of a brown sign that reads: Wild Potomac with a large leaf logo.
A terraced hillside with stone walls that have buckets and trays of seedlings on them. In the background there is a group of group leaning over the seedlings, picking them up and moving them to where they are going to be planted.
Two people standing next to a road, each with a large shovel in their hands, posing next to a hole that they have dug with a wheelbarrow in front of them.
Two children standing and two adults standing and sitting in the grass around a tree sapling planted inside of a net cage with wood stakes holding it up. There is a group of adults standing behind them in the background, in front of a line of taller trees.