5 Reasons Green Spaces are Healthier Places

For 15 years, the TurfMutt Foundation has shared the environmental value of properly caring for and stewarding backyards, parks, school yards, and other public green spaces. By educating about the benefits of living landscapes, the TurfMutt Foundation is helping develop a greener, healthier quality of life for families, communities, and future generations.

The benefits of green space, starting right in our own yards and community parks, are vast. Here are just five reasons why green spaces are healthier places.

• Our yards serve as outdoor living areas, expanding the usable square footage of our homes and offering a safe place for kids and pets to play.
• The environmental superpowers of plants, trees, shrubs, and grass are remarkable. Living landscapes capture and filter rainwater, produce oxygen, and absorb carbon, just to name a few.
• Having the proper green space that blooms throughout the year in backyards and community parks helps animals and insects thrive by linking fragmented habitats into a connected ecosystem.
• Researchers found that people living near green spaces, including parks or forests, age more slowly than those in dense urban environments.
• A meta-analysis of 30 years’ worth of existing research shows exposure to nature benefits those with diagnosed mental illness. Even 10 minutes in nature benefits adults with mental illness.

These are just a few of the many benefits of the green space around us. To learn more, download the TurfMutt Foundation’s International Backyarding Fact Book here. To learn more about the TurfMutt Foundation, visit TurfMutt.com, or sign up for Mutt Mail, a monthly e-newsletter with backyarding tips and all the news from the TurfMutt Foundation here. Look for Mulligan the TurfMutt on the CBS Lucky Dog television show on Saturday mornings.