Nerd Nite June 10, 2017

Turf, grass, and lawns get a bad rap.  Many people tie maintenance of this plant to snobby country clubs, suburbia, and other high maintenance examples, it is also the surface that we gather to relax, play, picnic, and build community.  Nothing exemplifies the cross section of these two extremes more than the National Mall. We want this iconic landscape to exemplify our pride and competence, and we want to use it unreservedly for community activities, not least of which is expression of our First Amendment rights.  Can we have both and be sustainable? Recent reconstruction of the Mall was more than just a sod job.  Every aspect was evaluated as a way to keep grass alive in America’s most trafficked park including design, construction, and permit conditions. This talk will go behind the scenes on how the most recognizable lawn in America was rebuilt to be sustainable.

Following graduation from University of Massachusetts, Michael (@mwstack) embarked on a career of building, renovating, and caring for golf courses, combining highest levels of landscape operations while spending other peoples’ money. But then he became an evangelist for authenticity , eventually writing articles tying historic design principles advocated by Frederick Law Olmsted to golf courses and raging against Disney-fication of our landscapes.  This sparked a yearning to be part of landscapes that mattered to a wider audience, not just the privileged few. So, after a career in managing golf course operations for the Vineyard Vine wearing country club set that caused him to lose his hair and not be able to sleep more than four hours at a time – Michael took his love for maintaining and building landscapes to the National Park Service when the opportunity presented itself to care for the “America’s Front Lawn.”