“​We’ve been so focused on fossil fuels and the short-term methane from burping cows that we’ve missed the significant amount of carbon (and water) being lost from under our feet to the air and to the seas.”  Nicole Masters, For the Love of Soil

We can fight climate change, save money, restore small water cycles, have more healthy soil packed with carbohydrates, and protect local communities from deluges and droughts all at once!

When an established lawn is not fertilized, the grass roots leave the surface and go deep into the soil, opening it up.  Also, quick-release fertilizers pollute waterways, kill soil microbes, and often contain harmful chemicals. The Slow Water Fund will pay residents who pledge not to use fertilizer or chemicals $1 per square foot of lawn up to $1,000 for 1,000 square feet because a lawn with healthy soil can build an inch of soil in a year.  With four inches of soil during heavy rains, the lawn will swell to hold seven inches of rainwater, protecting homes and property from flood and erosion damages.

To further restore groundwater to keep plants moist and rivers flowing, the Slow Water Fund will also pay property owners to install rainscapes to catch and hold rainwater, including permeable pavers, rain barrels, cisterns, rain gardens, and Miyawaki forests.

Funds, unlike bills, do not require a vote of the legislature.

More than a thousand have already told Beacon Hill why they support the Slow Water Fund, you may too.

If everyone gave $5, we would exceed our yearend goal.

Move a legislator to write the Slow Water Fund with a donation.

Learn more about building soil in your backyard to fight climate change by clicking here.

Slowing water runoff, recharging groundwater, and storing more carbon in healthier soils by Morgan Owens (Tufts University student).

For more information:

“Slowing Water for Greener Neighborhoods.” E, The Environmental Magazine, December 18, 2022.