Letting lawns go wild and vacant city lots go green

Americans love their lawns. This time of year, people with yards are whipping their grass into shape with mowing, blowing and fertilizing. But University of Delaware ecologist DOUGLAS TALLAMY says people should give up that perfectly manicured green carpet and let their lawns go for the sake of the birds, the bugs and the environment. Tallamy wants people to return half of their yards to the wild so that native plants and animals can flourish. We’ll talk with Tallamy about why we should give up our lawns and how to create native habitat. But first, there’s a new effort in Philadelphia to return vacant lots to communities and turn them into greens spaces and gardens. Councilmember KENDRA BROOKS joins us to talk about her Restore Community Land plan and Soil Generation’s SONIA GALIBER discusses how gardening can be an act of political resistance.