A Vision for Ecological Landcare in Schools
Part 1 of a 3-part series with Edwina von Gal, founder of Perfect Earth Project.
When we think about school sustainability, we often start with solar panels or recycling bins. But what about the school grounds—the grass we play on, the plants we walk past, the spaces we mow, blow, and spray?
In this three-part series, we’re joined by Edwina von Gal, a leading voice in sustainable landscaping and the founder of Perfect Earth Project—a nonprofit dedicated to promoting toxic-free, nature-based, and climate-responsible land care. With decades of experience designing award-winning landscapes, Edwina now works to help schools, communities, and individuals rethink their relationship with land.
“The culture we’ve built around landscaping is one of noise and poison. It might look neat, but it’s not really healthy or living.”
What Is Ecological Land Care?
Ecological land care means managing outdoor spaces in a way that supports biodiversity, human health, and long-term sustainability. It prioritizes native plants, avoids chemical inputs, protects the soil, and creates habitats for birds, insects, and wildlife.
Instead of striving for a manicured monoculture of grass, ecological landcare embraces the idea of working with nature—creating landscapes that are alive, responsive, and full of joy.
In just the past 50 years, wildlife populations have declined by an average of 69% — driven almost entirely by human activity. What happens if we continue on this trajectory?
Why It Matters—for Schools, for Students, for the Planet
Biodiversity is in crisis.
In the last 50 years, North America has lost nearly a third of its bird population. The birds disappearing are not rare or exotic species—they're the backyard birds. Why? Because backyard habitats are vanishing. As Edwina puts it, “Every time we build a home, we’re destroying someone else’s home—billions of lives.”Children and staff are exposed to harmful chemicals.
Many schools still use pesticides and herbicides on lawns, despite growing evidence linking these chemicals to cancer, hormone disruption, and neurological disorders. “Kids and pets can’t read the signs that say ‘Keep Off,’” Edwina notes. “And even if they could—why create these toxic spaces in the first place?”Our land care practices are out of sync with what we value.
We go on holiday to national parks and marvel at the beauty of wild, diverse landscapes—then come home and mow, blow, and spray our yards into lifeless silence. “We’ve stopped questioning it,” Edwina says. “But it’s time we did.”
Human Health Is at Risk—Especially for Children
“We have lawns treated with chemicals… and we’ve been told that these chemicals only harm insects, fungi, and bacteria—but don’t affect humans. However, we now know that these chemicals kill the very bacteria and fungi in our biome, which are essential for human health—especially for our immune system,” says Edwina.
Lawns may look clean and safe, but appearances can be dangerously misleading. Many are regularly treated with herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers that leave behind invisible residues. Students and staff walk on them, sit on them, and play on them.
“There’s increasing evidence of links between cancers, endocrine issues, nervous system disorders, and these chemicals.”
Children are especially vulnerable. Their developing bodies absorb chemicals more readily, and their behaviors—like sitting on the grass or touching their mouths—can increase exposure. Yet many school communities don’t even realize these substances are being used.
“It’s important to find out if your school is using these chemicals—because it’s not just about you. It’s also about the root population that relies on the organisms those chemicals kill.”
Ecological land care isn’t just about plants and pollinators. It’s also about people—especially the students who spend hundreds of hours a year on school grounds. Healthier landscaping means healthier schools.
It's Time to Rethink the Status Quo
Picture the prevailing—if not only model around schools and homes: tidy lawns, trimmed shrubs, piles of leaves carted away. It may look organized, but it’s ecologically empty.
Edwina notes, “The primary thing we do around buildings is plant lawns, and we mow them, which creates noise. We also trim them into shapes, which creates more noise. Then, we blow all the biomass into piles and take it away, which creates more noise and more harm. Because heaven forbid we let a leaf stay on the ground—it’s a crucial habitat for moths and butterflies.
We also attack anything that doesn’t fit the ‘perfect lawn’ ideal—like clover and dandelions. The common solution? Pesticides and herbicides. But these don’t just kill weeds—they destroy the soil biome. Over time, this triggers a cascading system collapse.”
“It might look neat, but it’s not really healthy or living... we’ve been doing this for so long that we’ve stopped questioning it.”
Edwina invites us to start questioning.
Why are we mowing and poisoning spaces that could be teeming with life?
Why are we designing landscapes for appearance, not ecological function?
And why are we spraying the very spaces where children sit, play, and learn—with chemicals we know can harm their health?
Schools Have a Chance to Lead
Schools have both a responsibility and an opportunity to model better practices. By shifting away from chemical-dependent, resource-intensive groundskeeping, schools can:
Support pollinators, birds, and soil life
Improve student and staff health
Reduce noise and air pollution
Offer hands-on sustainability learning
Save money on maintenance and chemical inputs
“You have the power to say, ‘I’ll be the first. I’ll do this.’ And others will follow—because you’re going to make it beautiful. This is how we say to the world: ‘I care.’”
Biodiverse and teaming with life and pollinators: The school garden at San Domenico School, California. (Read more)
What’s Next?
This is just the beginning. In Part 2, we’ll explore Edwina’s Global Ground Rules—five powerful principles to guide your school’s ecological landcare journey. Then in Part 3, we’ll dig into practical ways to get started, from small pilot projects to whole-campus transformations.
For now, we invite you to take the first step: look at your school grounds with fresh eyes. What’s being sprayed, mowed, or thrown away? What’s growing—and what isn’t? What’s being cared for, and what’s just being controlled?
And most importantly, start asking: Why?
Watch and share the Webinar on Imagining Ecological Landcare for Schools, with Perfect Earth’s Edwina von Gal.
Read more about health implications of common school pesticides.
Explore the Least-Toxic Control of Pests for Lawns/Landscapes/Gardens.
Join the Less Lawn, More Life 12-Week Challenge.
Sustainable Land Care is an important START Metric for Whole School Sustainability!
#40 Grounds Management: Managing school grounds in ways that protect and promote environmental health and biodiversity, for example through Integrated Pest Management and sustainable land care.
Find additional resources for this metric in the GSA Community: #40: Grounds Management.
