I have a simple suggestion for making Greenfield more attractive and safer for pedestrians and, at no cost to taxpayers, not even a dime, but just a little, shall I say, “elbow grease.”

Take a walk around town and you will notice an increasing number of properties where lawns, flowers, vegetation and weeds have been allowed to grow several feet high and, in some cases, obscuring the front of houses. In some places, this overgrowth extends right into the strip of land between the sidewalk and the street.

Now, I understand the potential argument. Some people believe that allowing vegetation to grow naturally provides a valuable habitat for bees, butterflies and other wildlife. I certainly respect that point of view. I enjoy seeing an occasional Monarch and hummingbird feeding on the petunias on our veranda. Yeah, it is kind of neat.

There is a problem, however. When vegetation becomes 3, 4, or even 5 feet high and encroaches on sidewalks, it stops being a matter of personal landscape preference and makes walking through these canyons of flowers and weeds difficult and, during tick season, hazardous and less appealing. Pedestrians walk in the street to avoid the overgrowth.

My proposal is simple: cut the weeds.

I’m not suggesting that homeowners hire landscapers or that taxpayers foot the bill. Remember, my proposal comes at no cost. I’m suggesting that homeowners simply keep the vegetation on their property — and particularly along the sidewalks and street frontage — trimmed to a reasonable height.

Perhaps Greenfield could even promote this as a community project, a beautification effort: you know, neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers lending a hand to neighbors who may have difficulty keeping up with their property, and everyone doing their small part.

This doesn’t have to be a battle between environmentalists and people who like neat lawns. We can have pollinator gardens, native plants and natural areas and maintain walkable sidewalks.

Greenfield is a beautiful community with a superb natural setting. Keeping it this way doesn’t require new taxes or an expenditure of public money.

All it takes is a little labor — some “elbow grease.”

Tom Bevacqua of Greenfield is a social studies teacher and meteorologist at WHAI.