A Tasmanian woman officially has the ‘World’s Ugliest Lawn’.
Kathleen Murray from Sandford won the inaugural global contest run out of Sweden, aimed at promoting water-saving practices and environmentally-friendly gardening.
Featuring craters dug by bandicoots, patches of withered grass and shrivelled plants, Murray’s lawn outshone competitors from Germany, France, Canada, Croatia, Sweden, the US and the UK.
“It’s pretty shock-and-awe … The bandicoots love digging, that’s how they find their favourite food. Now my back yard looks like a real-life Hungry Hungry Hippo game,” Murray told The Guardian.
“I also have an echidna that helps and some chooks.”
The Sandford area where Murray lives is without mains water, meaning rainwater the family collects in tanks is too precious to waste on the lawn.
“I used to think the bandicoots were wildlife of mass destruction invading my lawn, but now I see that they’ve actually liberated me from ever having to mow it again,” Murray said.
“I’m all for guilt-free weekends, especially since my ex-husband left with the lawnmower back in 2016.”
“I’ve chosen to make my place an extension of the nature reserve because it is right beside it. That’s another excuse for me not watering my lawn. Do you water Cradle Mountain? No. It just looks after itself. By and large, that’s what’s happened.”
Campaign organisers from Gotland in Sweden say the content is a “gentle way to nudge people into action” when it comes to saving water.
“It’s a global problem. Sometimes, there’s pressure on people to keep their lawn really green and tidy and lush and it can be easier to say ‘I’m in this competition, I don’t need to water my lawn.’”
The jury deliberated for nearly two hours before declaring the ugliest lawn winner, with Murray now the proud owner of the inaugural trophy – a commemorative T-shirt.
