MUSCATINE, Iowa — Company officials at Bridgestone/Bandag Tire Solutions in Muscatine are seeing green in grass that is turning brown.

The killing of the 15 acres of turf is intentional, but temporary, says Paul Crosser, environmental services manager for the company at 2905 N. U.S. Highway 61.

In keeping with its One Team, One Planet environmental campaign, the company is replacing the grass at its Muscatine properties with native plants.

The project is being designed and overseen by an Illinois company that was founded by Muscatine native James Patchett.

 Patchett, president of the Conservation Design Forum at Elmhurst, Ill., said his company has been encouraging the use of native plantings in landscape design for 20 years.

Conservation Design Forum also designed the native planting project on the hillside of the Mark Twain overlook  in Muscatine.

Those aren’t Patchett’s only local projects. In 1977, when he was newly graduated from Iowa State University, he  designed the landscaping for Bandag’s new offices in Muscatine.

Bandag became Bridgestone/Bandag Tire Soluntions in 2008.

Patchett and Crosser said native plantings will save water and fuel because they don’t need to be mowed.

In addition, the conversion could reduce water consumption by 500,000 gallons a year, according to Bridgestone/Bandag.

In addition, the nativel landscape can save Bridgestone/Bandag $70,000 this year and more than $100,000 annually in the future by lowering the fuel and fertilizer usage associated with mowing and maintaining its lawn.

The native plants also provide an improved habitat for wildlife.

The conversion is an extension of the 10 acres of native landscapes established in 1999 around the company’s Learning Center.

“When we built the Learning Center, the native landscaping project was the first step taken in becoming more sensitive to how we interact with our environment,” said Crosser. “We are now committing ourselves wholly to this approach, which helps us further meet our corporate responsibilities as environmental stewards.”

The native plantings are all species that are native to Muscatine, said Patchett, which means they have a history of establishing in the local soil.

Patchett said area residents can look forward to seeing black-eyed Susans  later this summer, and even more color next year when plants such as purple cornflower take hold.

“Each summer, it will get better and richer,” said Patchett.