Lawns do support some animals, but only a few species: Skunks eat lawn grubs (but lawns can’t support enough prey for skunk’s main predator, owls). Geese can eat grass, and have no fear of being snuck up on when it’s so short. So long as cottontails have a thicket or deck nearby, in or under which they can den,…

Yeah, downsides...like life. Or sequestering carbon. Or not pissing away water. Or not creating an ecological nightmare with unregulated agricultural chemicals.

Producing no seeds, nectar, or fruit, few creatures can use can use lawns as habitat. Biodiversity-wise “it’s almost like concrete,” he told Earther.