June 4th

By Mutt Mulligan

Get Outside on June 6 for National Gardening Exercise Day

This Thursday, June 6 is National Gardening Exercise Day! It’s the perfect excuse to get your family off the couch and out of doors to celebrate the green spaces in your own backyard. Watch TurfMutt’s PSA to learn about the reasons taking care of green space is so important.

Gardening with the family is good for physical, mental and environmental health.

Not only is gardening therapeutic, it is also good for the body. Experts say gardening provides benefits for endurance, flexibility and strength. For an hour of gardening, an average 150 pound person will typically burn more than 300 calories. (Think how challenging it can be to rake, hoe or dig!)

Gardening is also a great family activity. Kids are more likely to eat fruits and veggies that they have helped grow and pick. And little compares to the satisfaction of sitting down on the patio with a tall glass of lemonade and looking out over a just-mowed  lawn or a recently-planted flowerbed.

Finally, gardening is good for the environment. Plantings help reduce runoff, soil erosion, air pollution and the effects of heat islands (bare areas in parking lots that raise air temperatures). Plantings, trees and grass also absorb carbon dioxide and store it.

To learn more about how green space helps improve the world we live in, and to test your “green knowledge” download TurfMutt’s Student Activities Guide.