Weston sustainability coordinator urges lawn reduction, plant-zone shift at Garden Club

WESTON — January 18, 2024 — Weston sustainability coordinator urges Garden Club to rethink lawns under shifting climate. Sustainability Coordinator Hannah Lothrop told the Weston Garden Club on Jan. 18 that lawn irrigation is the clear driver behind Weston having the highest per-capita water use in Massachusetts, and pointed to the town's 2021 Climate Action and Resilience Plan goals of 50 percent emissions cuts by 2035 and a 50 percent water-use reduction by 2050. She said the updated USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map released in November 2023 now classifies Weston as Zone 6B, and that she personally plans to Zone 7. Lothrop said Select Board member Lori Bent has pushed for a town demonstration garden but no site has been chosen, calling it a project that "needs to be like a community-led effort." She also previewed a joint Weston-Wayland Council on Aging grant to train climate liaisons coaching seniors on heat pump installation.