Overview
- Edith Andersen’s book Rebuilding Nature: Yard by Yard was released on August 10, 2025. It is part memoir and part guide, drawing on her background as a Master Gardener in Saline, Michigan, and her Icelandic childhood, to show how replacing lawn with native habitat can restore both ecological function and personal connection to nature.
- She makes the case that the American lawn—covering about 40 million acres, more than any irrigated crop—can be transformed yard by yard into a network of wildlife-supporting spaces. Her vision parallels ecologist Douglas Tallamy’s “Homegrown National Park” idea but is grounded in her own backyard practice.
- Andersen’s approach is pragmatic as well as ecological, pointing out that Michigan already bans phosphorus lawn fertilizer, that Washtenaw County teaches rain garden construction, and that Saline permits managed “natural lawns.” These local frameworks make her guidance not only aspirational but immediately actionable.
- The book emphasizes simple steps: plant native perennials, leave leaf litter to shelter insects like fireflies, and build small rain gardens to slow stormwater. These modest actions attract pollinators, birds, and butterflies, while still keeping yards orderly enough to fit neighborhood expectations.
- At its core, Andersen’s message is that private yards are not trivial. In the face of staggering biodiversity losses—including the disappearance of nearly 3 billion birds since 1970—individual choices about turf and plantings can stitch together corridors of habitat that slow runoff, reduce chemical use, and create hope in the midst of ecological crisis.
Transcription
David Fair: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to this week's Issues of the Environment. As fall sets in and we start to settle in for colder weather while making spring plans for our lawns and gardens, we wanted to look at something a little different. Edith Andersen is a master gardener who lives in Saline. She has a new book out called "Rebuilding Nature: Yard by Yard." It highlights the growing trend of homeowners deciding to trade in a manicured appearance of their lawns for one that highlights living landscapes that better serve our pollinators. Edith, congratulations on the book! And thank you for joining us today!
Edith Andersen: Thank you, David! And thank you for having me!
David Fair: You've been in the community for a while now, but you grew up in Iceland. I'm curious as to how different the philosophies and practices are when it comes to approaching lawn care.
Edith Andersen: Oh, it's very different! Well, our growing season in Iceland is only 90 days. And I think in Michigan, it's about 150. And there's not much sun in Iceland. Even today in Reykjavik, when they get a bright sunny day, some stores will actually close down and leave a sign that says, "Closed for a sunbreak."
David Fair: We could only hope for that here.
Edith Andersen: Yes. My Danish father, he was raised in a farming community in Denmark. And I watched him work in the garden, and I sensed his respect for the earth. But it wasn't only my father. It was just we didn't take anything for granted. And so, when I came to America in the late 1960s, I wasn't paying a whole lot of attention to the growing season. But I was just amazed at how much sun you had! I had never seen so much sun! I felt like I had come home when I came here.
David Fair: It's interesting in how different parts of the world value different things. In Iceland, dandelions are welcomed. Around here, they're often looked at as a sign of an unhealthy or at very least unkempt lawn. How do you think America came to that conclusion?
Edith Andersen: If we go back about 100 years, the trend to have these big, big lawns was a sign of affluence. It was something we all aspired to do. So, when you had what you call weeds and you make a negative association with that, that was an interruption. So, that was to be treated like we don't want that. And I think that's how that all came about.
David Fair: As I understand it, the population of birds has declined by about 3 billion since 1970.
Edith Andersen: Yes!
David Fair: And in large part, that's due to loss of habitat. You estimate the traditional American lawn now covers about, what, 40 million acres of land, and that's even more than any irrigated crop. Those feel like overwhelming and perhaps irreversible numbers. How can changing my little lawn make a difference?
Edith Andersen: Okay, that's a good question, too. Well, a single yard may seem really small, but when stitched together, they create an enormous patchwork of life. Think of it like a quilt--each piece matters. And together, it keeps us all warm. Do not underestimate what your small yard can do. You can think about layers like trees and shrubs for shelters, perennials for flowers, and ground covers to keep the soil healthy. So, we can do a lot more when we think, and I think we're beginning to see that our people that are doing the science, and I certainly don't have all the answers, but they're doing the science part. And every year, as they adjust their yards and fields, they're taking count of how many pollinators, how many butterflies, how many bees are coming, and it is increasing. So, we know it matters. We know it makes a difference.
David Fair: Our Issues of the Environment conversation with Edith Andersen continues on 89.1 WEMU. Edith is a master gardener and author of the recently released book called "Rebuilding Nature: Yard by Yard." Now, Saline allows for residents to house a natural lawn. Not every municipality does. Not a lot of homeowners associations allow for them. Your vision is for a long line of natural lawns through neighborhoods that extend through communities, states, and the country. How would you go about negotiating the political aspect of creating natural lawn pathways? I mean, there's not a universal love of the natural lawn.
Edith Andersen: No, there isn't. Probably Ann Arbor is furthest along than any of the other communities. I think what we have to do is we have work together. And with my book, I'm also reaching out to garden clubs all over Washtenaw County, Jackson, and Oakland County. And some of them are responding. Garden club members are in the best position to really get that word out by setting an example. For example, we take care of the library garden, we take care of the train depot, and we can do a lot more planting wildlife. But as far as the politics, that's always trickier. But I think if you can get a law movement within your community and you can see that it's actually working. For example, now I have, on each side of my house, I have just stocks. But if you look, especially at night, outside my house, there are already more fireflies, and there are more bees. When you just look at the three yards, one on the flank on the east side of my house, you'll see that already, even after a year, we're beginning to see far more pollinators. So, coming back to your question about how do we go about it, we have to work with our HOA. But I think the HOA will work with us to see that there's enough interest. It's going to take time because people are still very adamant that a green turf is a sign of a good lawn or a good garden or a way to take care of the earth. Right now, I see them beginning to spray for fall. They are putting fertilizers in their lawns. And how to change that will take time, but it's possible. I think the HOA will work with us if they see that there are enough of us that are saying, "You know what? This matters!" What we're seeing now, it matters, and we need to change it.
David Fair: You know, there are politics between individuals, as well interpersonal politics, if you will. How have your neighbors reacted to natural lawn?
Edith Andersen: The younger people are very excited. I can't say that the same for people my age. They're kind of more like wait and see. You know, young people, they don't wanna have summers in the future without the song of birds. They don't want gardens without butterflies--a world where their kids are never gonna see fireflies. And that future's a lot closer than we think, but it doesn't have to be. We don't need to wait for Washington or the corporations to act. Each of us has power to turn this tide in our yard, yard by yard. If we just take small steps together, they become a powerful act of restoration. And in that way, I think little by little, yard by yard, the world will become more alive.
David Fair: Well, for those who are allowed and are interested, the process of a lawn change may seem a bit overwhelming. What's the best place to start?
Edith Andersen: Well, anything! I would suggest to them two or three plants. And I would say just get a corner of your yard and plant it. And then, each year, you can add to it. You can reduce some of the lawn, and you can keep adding to it. And even when you're buying a tree or a shrub or native grasses, look it up and make sure that it's a native plant before you plant it. And that's an awesome way to build your yard. An oak tree--it's like a host to 800 different butterflies and bees and animals. And if you're thinking that, "Okay I have this one corner." So, if you want to have color through the season, then you just pick natives that take turns. Like in spring, you could do Wild Columbine or Service Berry, which is a bush. In the summer, you can bring bee balm, who are great about spreading themselves around, cornflower or Black-Eyed Susan. And as they kind of go to sleep for the fall, you would pick an aster or a goldenroach. And then, in winter, there are shrubs like electric dogwood or native grasses that still look beautiful throughout the winter, and they feed the birds. So, those would be the suggestions that I would give.
David Fair: How would you best describe the esthetic of a natural lawn?
Edith Andersen: A natural lawn--you would know that it's a natural lawn just by how alive it is. And a natural lawn would incorporate food for pretty much all the wildlife, especially the pollinators. I have a copy that started with 100 wild strawberry plants just to cover the land. And the first few days when I saw that they were coming up and when the berries started, I had a parade of squirrels. And I had kind of a knee-jerk, like, "No, leave it alone! Leave it alone!" But I had to trust it. And after a while, they left, and the wild strawberries too did quite well. It's kind of like a buffet that you have something for everyone, whereas when you have just a lawn, although there's nothing wrong with that, per se, there's nothing wrong with sod, except that grass alone is like a food desert for birds and pollinators. So, at a minimum, mix in native plants, even if you want to keep some of the plants you have because you love them. That's fine, but mix in some of native plants. You still have plenty of space, but you give nature a home, and that's what we want to do. We want to share nature with the other life around it. We need to live together.
David Fair: Well, it's obvious we can learn a lot from your experience, your philosophy and the process that you found. It is all contained in your book. Where can people pick up or order a copy?
Edith Andersen: They can order from Amazon, and they can also go on my website, which is rebuildingnature.earth. And those will be the two main places to get it.
David Fair: Well, I'd like to thank you for taking time to talk with me today! And again, congratulations on the book!
Edith Andersen: David, thank you! It was my pleasure!
David Fair: That is Edith Andersen, a Saline resident, master gardener, and author of the book "Rebuilding Nature: Yard by Yard." For more information and for links on where to find the book for purchase, stop by our website at WEMU.org. Issues of the Environment is produced in partnership with the office of the Washtenaw County Water Resources Commissioner, and you hear it every Wednesday. I'm David Fair, and this is your community NPR station, 891 WEMU-FM, Ypsilanti. Celebrating 60 years of broadcasting from the campus of Eastern Michigan University!
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