January 7, 2026

Dutchess Land Conservancy

Wednesday, January 7, 6:00 PM EST Online Event

Join landscape architect and designer Owen Wormser for strategies on turning our lawns into vibrant meadows.

Most yards in the United States are biological deserts and an ecological burden due to too much lawn coupled with an overuse of non-native species. Lawns alone cover tens of millions of acres in the U.S. and have a massive, detrimental impact on the ecology of the planet. Meadows offer the opposite ecological effect of lawns.

Meadows are ecological assets that provide myriad benefits – including ongoing sequestering of carbon and increased biological diversity. Meadows are also beautiful, long-lasting, and low-maintenance.

Landscape designer and author Owen Wormser will talk about a range of different design, site preparation, and maintenance approaches, and discuss how to choose the right ones based on your resources and landscape conditions.

Owen Wormser was born and raised off the grid in rural Maine, surrounded by the presence of the natural world. That connection inspired Owen to pursue a career working with plants and design. After graduating with a degree in landscape architecture in 1998, Owen founded his first landscape design/build company with a focus on creating sustainable, beautiful, low-maintenance landscapes. Based in Western Massachusetts, he has designed and built hundreds of landscapes influenced by his ongoing study of horticulture, permaculture, organic agriculture, and ecology. His first book, Lawns Into Meadows, Growing a Regenerative Landscape, was released in 2020. A revised second edition was released in the fall of 2022.

The DLC's Earth Matters webinar series is sponsored by Mutual of America and Structure Works Construction.

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