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Urban land use and land cover has changed in the USA, giving rise to the American lawn – manicured, resource-intensive, and non-native. Green infrastructure design has been suggested in the literature as a potential alternative to the American lawn when managed as native xeriscapes, which require little to no irrigation after establishment. Given the influence of public preference on landscaping decisions, what is the relationship between the perceived value and ecological benefits of the American lawn compared to such alternatives? Few studies have explored this question in addition to the effects of college courses on influencing student preferences, as future stakeholders, towards native xeriscapes as alternatives to the American lawn. This research measured the effects of an introductory environmental education (EE) course on measurably influencing undergraduate student preferences for four xeriscapes as alternatives to the American lawn. To measure these effects, this study utilized the perceptions of 488 students enrolled in an indirect introductory EE course and 131 students enrolled in an introductory non-EE course. Three key results emerged from this research. Students preferred the American lawn more than xeriscape alternatives, irrespective to course enrolled. Introductory non-EE did not have an effect on student preferences, whereas indirect introductory EE did show some effects on student preferences. Lastly, student preferences were negatively associated with NPP per photosynthetically active square meter. The data from this study suggests that indirect introductory EE does not shift aesthetic landscape preferences towards pro-environmental alternatives. These results show promise for shifting such preferences via more direct EE approaches.