Letters

The following letter is an example of what you personally could send to promote biodiversity at a school with which you are connected as an alum, student, or employee. It was written in May, 2023 to the president of the State University of New York at Albany.

Dear Pres. Rodríguez,

I am an alumnus (PhD, ’20) writing to suggest that you allow monoculture lawns on campus to become biologically diverse and that you allow some of the new meadow to grow long. Here are reasons that this would be good for the university in particular and for the world.

·     A university that prides itself on diversity should not be adorned with needless zones of uniformity. This item of hidden curriculum sabotages an important part of the university’s mission.

·     Biodiversity is key to human survival and is being destroyed. Lawns occupy a vast total acreage. Their reversion to a biologically inclusive state could both heal some of our wounds to Nature and alert people to the need to do more. Respect for less powerful beings is key to solving the many problems of our species.

·     The university would save money by ceasing the great toil of restraining the expressions of Nature.

·     The university would set an example that might resound nationally and internationally, particularly given your own prominence and the university's experts in related fields who could talk to the media.

·     Lawns came into fashion due to the values of 18th-century imperial powers and enslavers of human beings. Lawns perpetuate the desire to extirpate variation and to dominate whatever can be dominated, whatever the cost, even Nature herself. Lawns transmit these values insidiously and are therefore even more dangerous than statues celebrating those who enslaved human beings. Let's get rid of both.

·     Because lawns require the wholesale destruction of some life to make way for other life, lawns are symbols of the danger of coming to be seen as undesirable. Lawns therefore actively stifle free expression. One learns not to stick out so as not to be mown down.

·     Judging by the many articles this spring in the Times Union on biodiversity, including pieces on the No-mow May movement and the Pollinator Pathways movement, a critical mass may have been formed that can cause rapid change if vocally supported by a person of your stature.

·     Monoculture lawns are boring, in contrast to the rest of the university.

·     Did I mention you’d save money?

I have begun a website to share even more reasons to embrace the movement promoting biodiverse ground cover. I posted three very brief video letters to you. I hope you have the chance to enjoy them.

Years ago, I was heartened to see the beginnings of variety in ground cover on campus. I’m sorry to find that the taste for uniformity has nevertheless retained the upper hand. I hope that you will take this opportunity to lead in the effort to stop people from working very hard to make the world worse and threaten our own and a million other species with extinction, in this case by following a fashion for lawns that was evil from the beginning.

Best wishes,
James
momshair.org

P.S. You could generate a large amount of good press by announcing during graduation ceremonies at least an intent to consider a sharp increase in biodiversity on campus. This would be inspiring.