Photo by Jacob Perryman The Warren County Conservation District’s demonstration area on Hatch Run will host the first lawn to meadows program project. According to the WCCD, the site was chosen so the public can visit the site to see the conversion process of turning an area into a meadow first hand. Informational items will be available on-site.

A grant program being introduced in the county aims to help property owners convert established lawns to native meadows.

The program, funded through the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, aims to convert larger areas of maintained space into a more natural state.

“Basically, convert those historically mowed lawns into meadows and tree planting forests,” DCNR Warren County Service Forester Taylor Chamberlin, who will serve as the technical expert for implementation of projects through the program, said.

That doesn’t mean you need to worry about your neighbor turning their lawn into unmaintained brush, he noted.

“The idea is not to turn everyone’s front yard into an unmowed mess,” he said. “We’re not going to do the front yard, essentially. We’re looking for larger areas.”

According to Chamberlin, the goal is to convert larger excess areas in strategic locations. He noted that while program guidelines haven’t been worked out locally yet, the plan is to target areas of at least a quarter of an acre.

The program will also utilize fencing, rock walls and other strategies to help areas blend into the area.

“To make it look intentional,” he said.

The process has its benefits.

According to Chamberlin, the hope is to provide year-round resources for pollinators.

“We have a lot of meadows in the area, but they’re all goldenrod,” he said. “Goldenrod flowers in late summer. The goal is to create bloom in other periods.”

Conversion can also prevent chemically contaminated runoff into water sources, according to DCNR.

He pointed out converting a space to its native state can benefit property owners as well.

“There’s the economic benefit of just not mowing,” he said, citing time consumed, emissions and gas and maintenance costs associated with traditional lawn care.

The grant is intended to offset the costs of properly converting space to a native state, which requires more than simply letting an area grow in.

While lawn conversion is trending nationally, Chamberlin said he doesn’t know if those in rural areas consider it necessary.

“I don’t know how much buy-in you get,” he said. “Because they see it all over, but the goal is year-round, which you don’t see.”

The Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts was awarded a DCNR Community Conservation Partnership Grant to fund programs like it, with an objective of converting 5,000 acres of lawn to meadow statewide by 2025. The program is aimed at spreading native plants, or those introduced before European colonization of Pennsylvania.

Similar to a riparian buffer program offered through the WCCD, the program will rely on volunteers.

“We definitely depend on volunteers to get these projects started,” Chamberlin said.

He noted that while preparation must be done professionally, other stages of the process require no technical expertise.

“Really, anyone can do it,” he said.

Those interested in participating in the program or volunteering can contact the conservation district at 814-726-1441.

Even if you don’t think a parcel will qualify, you can still help, according to Chamberlin.

“If they don’t think their property will qualify, if they have a small parcel. They can still plant native plants. That will help,” he said.