Gotland rewards the courage to weed. In order to gain something positive from the ban on irrigation in the gardens, the Swedish Baltic Sea island has announced a competition for the “ugliest lawn”.
The winner of the competition on his lawn.
Lush green, weed-free lawns are the pride of many garden owners, but they are also a source of stress: without constant care, time-consuming weeding, fertilizing, mowing and, above all, watering, the “perfect lawn” project is doomed to fail. But what if the water is so scarce that the authorities issue a ban on irrigation for most of the summer?
The Swedish Baltic Sea island of Gotland has made a virtue of necessity and this year one Competition for “Gotland’s ugliest lawn” advertised. Nobody should have to be ashamed of the yellow desert around the house, but on the contrary should be proud of being able to provide visible proof of the economical use of the scarce water.
Free advice as the main prize
The winner of the Instagram event was recently announced: The title goes to Marcus Norström from the main town of Visby. He was able to convince the jury with a “really lousy lawn”, which, according to the laudatory speech, has “good prerequisites for sustainable improvement”.
The winning photos show mostly brown soil with scattered tufts of grass and straw; some green lots prove that grass once grew in the garden. The winner accepted the award with aplomb: “A win is a win,” he said on Swedish radio.
As a prize, he does not receive a new green lawn rolled out, but free advice from one of the jury members. The gardener knows everything about plants that do best with little water and lots of sun. However, if Norstrom takes the tips on drought-resistant crops to heart, he won’t be able to defend his title next year.
Water scarcity is part of everyday life for Gotland’s population. While Sweden, with 100,000 larger lakes and 250,000 smaller bodies of water, is one of the countries with the most lakes in the world, the water is not equally accessible everywhere. The discharge is very low, especially in the southeast and on the Baltic Sea islands of Öland and Gotland, and the groundwater supply is correspondingly scarce.
On Gotland, the problem is exacerbated in the summer months due to the throngs of tourists who come to the island beautiful island pilgrimage, which lures with sandy beaches, limestone cliffs and the highest number of hours of sunshine in all of Sweden. The population of the holiday island temporarily jumps from 60,000 to 140,000 people.
Irrigation ban on large parts of the island
Restrictions are essential to ensure that there is enough drinking water on Gotland until autumn. This year, the problems became apparent very early on. After not a single drop of rain fell in March, the levels in the water reservoirs were so low that the provincial government issued a ban on watering Visby and the surrounding towns as early as April – watering flower borders and vegetable beds with the jug remained permitted. It is also forbidden to wash cars and fill private pools with municipal drinking water. In June, the regional government extended the ban to large parts of the island.
The people of Gotland are also pros when it comes to saving water in everyday life: This includes taking shorter showers, washing in the sea, cooling water in the fridge, using glasses and cups several times so that you do not have to start the dishwasher as often, and using water when Not brushing your teeth or shaving.
The regional waterworks not only has Tips and Tricks, but it also keeps an eye on any sinners: thanks to the real-time monitoring of the water consumption of all customers, the company can intervene quickly if a leak is suspected or a homeowner is trying to tap drinking water for his pool. Incidentally, the latter is allowed again: At the end of August, Gotland lifted this year’s irrigation ban.