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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Environment
Phoebe Weston

‘The dog’s very happy’: water-conscious Swedish islanders compete for ugliest lawn title

A dog on a dry lawn by a tree
The lawn of runner-up, Madeleine Fagerlund. Photograph: 2023 Gotland's ugliest lawn competition

Dry, brown grass is no longer a source of shame on one Swedish island where residents have been competing over the “ugliest lawn” in an attempt to save water – and it seems the trend is spreading.

“It was the easiest competition to win, I didn’t have to do anything,” said this year’s winner Stina Östman, a resident of Sweden’s largest island of Gotland, who has mixed feelings about her victory. “It’s always nice to win, even if you are the worst,” she said.

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