Sprawling green lawns are a classic part of any public park. But can we imagine a future
without them– and how?
By Kate Uyemura
February 18th, 2026
(Credit: Getty Images)
On a rainy day in Isla Vista, UCSB’s college town, the parks sit empty. This is rare. Usually, they are crowded with students pouring over essays, hanging out with friends, or simply relaxing– but not today. Residents you would normally see taking advantage of the green space hurry into homes to get out of the rain, leaving empty swaths of lawn behind.
Only without all of the people can you get a sense of how far these lawns reach. Among the parked cars and public art of IV’s residential neighborhoods sit 25 parks. That’s an estimated 55 acres– enough to fill about 42 American football fields. There’s Anisq’Oyo Park, equipped with an amphitheater in the heart of IV, where a grassy slope is used by students listening to concerts. In Children’s Park, littered with picnic tables, the green fields serve as running grounds for children. It’s certainly no easy task to take care of it all.
But the responsibility must fall to someone. However, that “someone” isn’t a single person– it’s the many faces of the IV Parks and Rec District. The twenty-person staff (including a five-person board, recreation leaders, and grounds workers) all contribute towards the organization’s greater mission. A big part of this is “enhancing, improving, and protecting the quality of life in the community”, which includes for people and nature both.
Those are easy ideals to get behind in theory. But when it comes down to the day-to-day decisions of managing that much land and the needs of 15 thousand IV residents, the work is never quite complete. A key part of that everlasting project is Kimberly Kiefer, the General Manager of IV Parks & Rec.
Through years of park experience in Los Padres National Forest to Yosemite to Golden Gate National Parks, the only thing more impressive than Kiefer’s resume is her excitement when it comes to serving the community. “I have the best job in the world,” she told me when I asked her what her days were like. Her dedication is infectious. Through her eyes, I see the merit of focusing on more small-scale groundwork within the community instead of globally.
Kimberly Kiefer, General Manager of IV Parks & Rec
(Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photo)
For her, IV is a place that needs parks. “So much of IV is nightlife”, she explained, saying that parks were an opportunity for social functions outside of a party on DP. Accessibility is innate, as one of the few places “where a diversity of people can meet one another.” In urban places where yards are not a given, she says parks “are really a mental health need.”
But the costs are many. A big factor is financial, from staff to maintenance to insurance. (Who knew parks needed insurance?) Another is the labor costs of planning and maintaining. But one of the most glaring is the environmental costs. Across the United States, we use up 1 billion gallons of water on maintaining the neatly manicured, invasive plants in our front yards and in our parks. Not fruit-bearing trees that provide food, or blooming flowers, but grass–often an invasive species that looks pretty but requires high maintenance.
How do we reconcile these two “opposing” ideas: parks are a need, but parks are costly and environmentally harmful? The answer may lie in IV Park & Rec’s latest completed project.
Previously a volleyball court, then an overgrown abandoned lot, Pardall Gardens has transformed into a study space with tables, baby trees, and the oddest thing– no lawn. “The place wasn’t irrigated to begin with”, Kiefer explains, “so it was a conscious decision not to install anything”. Instead, the place is littered around the edges with native plants like California poppies that will encourage pollinators to gather. “A nature corridor” as Kiefer calls it with a smile. Instead of a shade structure that deteriorates, saplings will eventually grow to provide natural shade that “lasts a lifetime.” It’s a model for what shared spaces might look like going forward. Not only does the lack of man-made shade and lawns support sustainability, they also save money.
A picture of the newly-renovated Pardall Gardens
(Credit: Rebecca Caraway / Noozhawk photo)
But this has not emerged from a vacuum. It required grants, support from the local community, and from the hard work of everyone involved. Without those who champion these ideas, it becomes virtually impossible.
UCSB student Ella Graban knows just how difficult it can be to convince people to turn thoughts into action. Fresh off a semester of study abroad, Graban welcomes the challenge of being chair for Environmental Justice Alliance – a school club that hopes to spread environmental awareness and incite action. She has high hopes and an even higher ambition for the world she wants to make: “There’s just so much I want to do,” she told me. But it’s an uphill battle. “People are busy,” she says, speaking about how reaching out to the public often yields few responses. The game becomes education, especially speaking to those in your circle about things that matter to you. It may be uncomfortable, but it’s necessary– if people understand why you care, they’ll be more willing to support your cause.
Another way forward is collaboration with those who are already incentivized to act. Graban’s club works with those obviously environmentally friendly, such as Surfrider or Environmental Affairs Board, but also those who you might not think of, like Science Communication or Democratic Socialists of America. In order to stay productive, groups must communicate and come upon a shared vision. Kimberly Kiefer agrees on this front. Her organization often works with the Bren School, which is policy-minded and ideas-based compared to her “tangible on-the-ground impact”. In this case, it is important to ask everyone: “How do great ideas lead into actual action?”
Lawns are no exception. If you agree that public parks are irreplaceable spaces that allow wellbeing and diverse connections, but that there is a more sustainable way to achieve those goals (in projects like Pardall Gardens), talking about it with anyone is the first step. From that support, we might just build parks that future generations can sit, study, and relax on– just as we get to now.
