land managers

By Michael Barnes, University of Minnesota

A recent article by Maria Ignatieva and colleagues has prompted me to reflect on the importance of going beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries in turf research and both my past work as part of the Low Input Turf project as well as my current work. Ignatieva and her colleagues led a 3-year research project investigating lawns in Sweden aptly named the LAWN project. It brought together researchers from multiple disciplines, decision makers such as city council members, and users such as golfers and local residents.

By Michael Barnes and Kristen C. Nelson, University of Minnesota

As spring activities begin, many of us are looking out our windows at last year’s turfgrass and taking much-needed walks throughout our urban green spaces. Public land managers are on the front lines of vegetation management and decision making as essential players in urban sustainability efforts. Managers can be found working at the city level, county level, or working for other organizations such as watershed districts that cut across municipal and county boundaries.