Healthy Grass Helps The Environment
Recognizing National Lawn Care Month
Posted in General by Curtis Williams
Again this April, we join the industry in recognizing “National Lawn Care Month,” and it is a great time to think about the message that homeowners and commercial property owners receive on the benefits of grass lawns.
Promoted through a partnership of industry associations, National Lawn Care Month has helped encourage landscaping that is environmentally positive. As noted by the National Association of Landscape Professionals:
•Lawns trap more than 12 million tons of dust and dirt annually. (The Lawn Institute)
•Turfgrass, like that found in our lawns, is much cooler than asphalt or cement, acting as an “air conditioner” for the surrounding area (lawns can be 22 degrees cooler than urban asphalt “heat islands”).
•Healthy turfgrass has many miles of fibrous roots that hold soil and filter rainwater. (National Arboretum Grass Roots Project) A single grass plant can have more than 300 miles of roots.
•It is estimated that a 50 by 50 foot lawn (2,500 square feet), releases enough oxygen for a family of four, while absorbing carbon dioxide, hydrogen fluoride, and perosyacetyle nitrate.
•Research has found that people find stress relief and healing when interacting with nature or even when just viewing nature on a computer screen or through a window. (Nature Sacred.org)
Green grass provides a great deal of benefits beyond the aesthetic of a lawn. Like any plant, grass can be an important element toward a healthy environment.