The Swedish island of Gotland crowns the ugliest lawn in the competition to save water
To help win over the community, the “Gotland’s Ugliest Lawn” competition was launched to turn a brown lawn into something to be proud of. Competition judge John Mattisson called it a “fun way to change the norm for green lawns in a climate where they are not natural” in a statement.
Such efforts have apparently worked: Water consumption has dropped enough that the irrigation ban will be lifted on September 1, competition judge Johan Gustafsson told The Washington Post.
Contest entries were made via Instagram.
– The work of following and finally crowning the year’s ugliest lawn on Gotland has been a fun mission during the summer months, says Mattisson in a statement. “No grass and barely a carpet says a lot about this year’s winning entry.”
Out of several really ugly entries, the final winner was Marcus Norström, who was dedicated to conserving water. Norstrom apparently didn’t water his lawn all summer, making it the antithesis of what society defines as the picturesque lawn; his lawn is sparsely covered with grass, with the few remaining leaves a sickly shade of yellow.
In a statement, the judging team said the winner was “a truly lousy lawn that lives up to all our expectations for Gotland’s ugliest lawn and has good prospects for a more sustainable improvement.”
The competition’s prize was a visit from local gardener Sara Gistedt, who was also a competition judge. She will help Norström plan a drought-resistant garden.
More locals on Gotland may need to consider planning drought-tolerant gardens, such as one 2022 report from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OCED) notes that climate change will only continue to cause water shortages on the already parched island.
“Water availability is projected to decrease by 13.3% for Gotland between 2021-50 compared to 1961-90 and estimates suggest that demand will increase by more than 40% by 2045,” the report states.
Data from European Drought Observatory (EDO) shows that large parts of Sweden, including Gotland, are experiencing drought which has caused a deficit in soil moisture, meaning vegetation will struggle to grow.
The dry conditions are hardly localized to Sweden, this summer. Most of Europe is facing some degree of drought along with above average temperatures. Across the continent, rivers are down to their lowest levels in centuries, and farmers are struggling to meet expectations.
Unusually dry conditions in Europe’s potato belt – which includes parts of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium – could lead to the worst ever potato harvest in the EU, likely pushing up prices for the staple, according to Reuters.
Wine production is also at risk of change. In Italy, Spain and Portugal, intense heat and a severe lack of rain have left farmers expecting a production drop of up to 20 percent in some areas, according to Associated Press.