It takes a special skill set to understand the technique of mowing dead grass. But somehow the Department of Transportation (DOT) has figured out how to do it. I imagine that the principle behind the art of dead grass mowing is to not think too much about it. Rather, it’s important to stick to a schedule. So even though it’s barely rained a drop this summer, if the work calendar says to mow the grass… mow the grass.
What is especially fascinating about this is that most of the dead grass that is being mowed – I’d venture to guess 98% – is where people don’t even walk. So what’s the point of mowing it to begin with? At a time when everyone knows how important it is to allow nature to thrive, because of the need to protect the pollinators – it’s even funnier (and sadder) to watch the industrial mowers shred the torched yellow grass cover to the dusty bare ground. If these areas were heavily foot-trafficked, and a proliferation of ticks was an issue, then maybe I could understand. At the same time, how about figuring out some sort of ground cover, since the grass element really isn’t working.
As if that was not enough, I noticed that the DOT now has a remote control mower that can mow the hilly areas between Fuhrmann Boulevard and Route #5 (another DOT debacle). Now that’s a place where people couldn’t walk even if they wanted to.
^ Remote control lawn mower ensures that anything that is still living is mowed down to the dirt
I wonder if the DOT has any landscape training other than mowing? Maybe workers could take a course at the Olmsted Conservancy about the importance of cultivating Maintained Meadow Areas (MMAs), or grasping No Mow Low Mow practices. Mowing dead grass seems like a waste of resources to me, as well as a complete waste of time, not to mention over-mowing to the detriment of the health and vitality of the Outer Harbor, including stabilizing soils, reducing erosion, and mitigating stormwater runoff…