May 1st

By Mutt Mulligan

Clean Air Month & living landscapes

May is Clean Air Month, and TurfMutt is here to remind us of the many ways our living landscapes – grass, trees, shrubs and flowering plants – help improve the air we breathe. Sure, our yards are beautiful, but your landscaping goes beyond that! Our lawns, community parks and other green spaces help ensure we have fewer code red air quality days.

Here are TurfMutt’s top three 3 reasons to celebrate the great American yard during Clean Air Month.

Captures Dust and Particulate Matter
Grass – like Green Ranger – helps clear the air! It plays a vital role in capturing rainwater, which collects dust, smoke particles and other matter from the air. Plants then filter those pollutants that harm people, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside. Scientists at Lancaster University in the U.K. also discovered the placement of grass, plants, and trees in urban environments can decrease the concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) by as much as 40 percent while reducing particulate matter by up to 60 percent.

Produces Oxygen
Breathe easier! A 25-square foot area of turfgrass supplies enough oxygen to support one person for a day, according to the University of Minnesota Extension. Additionally, American Forests reports that two mature trees – like TurfMutt’s pal Big Rooty – provide enough oxygen for one person to breathe over the course of a year.

Sequesters Carbon
Help our atmosphere! Research from Texas A&M indicates that turfgrasses remove atmospheric pollutants including carbon dioxide and ozone from the air. According to the Urban Forestry Network, planting just one tree per American family would reduce the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere by one billion pounds per year.

Learn more about the benefits of your living landscapes and how to care for them.