Smaller American Lawns Today, SALT, is a movement introduced in June of 1997 by Dr. William A. Niering, professor of botany at Connecticut College. The SALT mission is to decrease the size of lawns in America by restoring home grounds to more harmonious, productive, ecologically sound and naturalistic landscapes. SALT offers an alternative vision of the monocultured lawn. As Dr. Niering wrote, “There’s nothing wrong with dandelions, there’s something wrong with people.”
Natural beauty can abound in one's own yard. In our annual SALT Conference, participants learn how to cut back on the size of their lawns and also to have beautiful, sustainable, and friendly home grounds as well. Once established, you will never want to go back to a boring, monocultural lawn!
2024 SALT Conference
To mow or not to mow: Creating your home meadow
Saturday, November 2 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Connecticut College, Blaustein Hall
Ecological garden experts provide insight into the benefits of ecologically-minded plantings over traditional lawns and practical lessons in the site selection, design, creation and maintenance of a home meadow and other restorative landscape ideas.
Session titles/descriptions and speakers bios below
Full-day conference includes four speakers, a panel discussion, lunch & coffee.
Registration required.
Seating is limited.
Registration fee is $70.
A discounted rate of $60 is offered for current members of the Connecticut College Arboretum.
Registration link to be posted--
please check back soon!
Transform your lawn into an ecologically-beneficial meadow!
BEFORE & AFTER Photo credit: Owen Wormser
Session Titles/Descriptions
Transforming a Burden into a Blessing: Turning Lawns into Meadows Owen Wormser, Abound Design
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.
Designing Meadows and Naturalized Plantings for a Human Landscape Kathy Connolly, Speaking of Landscapes
Meadow plantings and other naturalized landscapes are often imagined as capturing nature's patterns and benefitting local ecology. Yet, to gain acceptance in a human setting, a great deal of planning... and often some compromise... is required. We will consider topics such as scale, proximity to visitors, colors, plant height, sightlines, pathways, edges, seating, signs, standards of care, the dormant season and more. This session focuses on form and setting, not individual plant selection.
Lawn Removal and Meadow Establishment Techniques Dan Wilder, Norcross Wildlife Foundation
Using case studies from Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary the presentation will discuss several techniques available for lawn removal or pasture conversion including discussion of the pros and cons of each method. Meadow establishment will focus on species selection including discussion of specific species that have performed well at sites in the northeast.
Meadow Maintenance Victoria Wallace, UCONN Extension Service
A discussion of ongoing maintenance tasks and schedule to encourage desired and beneficial plant species while also managing undesired and invasive species.
Panel Discussion Owen Wormser, Kathy Connolly, Dan Wilder, Victoria Wallace
Panel discussion responding to registrant-submitted questions about specific sites & situations.
Erigeron pulchellus & Solidago nemoralis Photo credits: Dan Wilder
Speaker Bios
Owen Wormser
Abound Design
After receiving a degree in landscape architecture in 1998, Owen Wormser 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. In 2016, Owen co-founded Local Harmony, a nonprofit that initiates and installs local regenerative projects built entirely with volunteers and community support. His first book, Lawns Into Meadows, Growing a Regenerative Landscape, was released in 2020. A revised second edition of Lawns Into Meadows was released in the fall of 2022.
Kathy Connolly is a landscape designer who specializes in naturalized designs, low-impact landscape techniques, and native plants. She gives more than 30 talks and workshops annually for conservation organizations, horticulturists, master gardeners, museums, libraries, land trusts, and garden clubs. Since 2013, Kathy has published over 200 articles and newsletters on landscapes, plants, and land care. She has received several awards and citations for her designs and communications efforts on behalf of ecological land care since beginning her design practice in 2011. Kathy has a master's degree in ecological landscape planning and design from the Conway School in Northampton, MA. She completed the advanced master gardener program and is an Accredited Organic Land Care Professional through the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut.
Director of Applied Ecology, Norcross Wildlife Foundation
Dan Jaffe Wilder is an ecologist, horticulturist, and botanist with over fifteen years’ experience working with native plants and their associated ecology. His work has ranged from classrooms to nurseries to botanical gardens to wildlife refuges specializing in native plant ecology, propagation, wildlife habitat construction, and native edible landscapes. Dan is the Director of Applied Ecology for the Norcross Wildlife Foundation whose mission is to protect, enhance, and expand wildlife through conservation, education, and support. A prolific photographer and author Dan’s book Native Plants for New England Gardens was released in 2018.
Victoria Wallace
UCONN Extension Service, CT State Extension Educator of Sustainable Landscapes
Victoria (Vickie) Wallace serves as the State Extension Educator of Sustainable Landscapes for the University of Connecticut. With a focus on sustainable turf and landscape practices, she works closely with landscape and turf professionals, including municipal and school turf managers that require pesticide-free management programs to maintain their athletic fields and grounds. She evaluates turfgrasses for low input use, serves as chair of the Invasive Plants Council, and co-organizes many Extension programs, including the Native Plants & Pollinators Conference, CIPWG symposium, and School Grounds IPM Workshops. She is an instructor for the Master Gardener Program, the Ornamental & Turf Short Course, CNLA’s CCH program and is UConn’s IPM Team Leader. Prior to joining the faculty at UConn, Ms. Wallace worked in the turfgrass seed industry as an agronomist. She received her B.S. from Penn State University and her M.S. from the University of Rhode Island.
2014 - Enhancing Wildlife Habitat: Landscaping for Seasonal Food and Cover with Native Plants with Peter Picone Wildlife Biologist at Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
2013 - The Joy of Creating a Beautiful and Bountiful Garden Homeowners often think in terms of planting an ornamental garden and a vegetable garden as two separate endeavors. It is possible, however, to have a garden that is both beautiful and bountiful.
2012 - Gardening in a Changing Environment Experts shared what they are doing now to maintain the sustainability of their land and what they have done when disaster has struck.
2009 - Going Native in New England with featured speaker Douglas W. Tallamy was most informative on the subject of using native plants to promote backyard biodiversity.
