April Is National Lawn Care Month

To welcome this annual burst of color, the Professional Lawn Care Association of America (PLCAA) designates each April as National Lawn Care Month. The same month that Earth Day (April 22, 2000) is celebrated.

"It’s the perfect time to honor the environment both through Earth Day and National Lawn Care Month in April," said Tom Delaney, executive vice president of PLCAA. "Nature is strutting her stuff with an array of colors that has at its base the green cushion of grass. This cushion offers many environmental benefits in our own backyards – many we don’t even realize."

Here are a few of the many benefits:

• Oxygen – 625 square feet of lawn provides enough oxygen for one person for an entire day.
• Temperature – On a block of eight average houses, front lawns have the cooling effect of 70 tons of air conditioning.
• Pollution – Turf absorbs gaseous pollutants such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide, converting them to oxygen.
• Dust and Dirt – Turf traps an estimated 12 million tons of dust and dirt released annually into the atmosphere.
• Fire Retardation – A buffer zone of grass around buildings helps retard the spread of fire.
• Water Quality – Turf prevents soil erosion, filters contaminants from rainwater and reduces runoff.

For more information on the benefits of a healthy lawn, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope requesting a free copy of "The ABCs of Lawn & Turf Benefits" to: PLCAA, Attn: "ABCs," 1000 Johnson Ferry Road, NE, Suite C-135, Marietta, GA 30068. Also available from PLCAA: "Water Quality and Your Lawn" and "What You Should Know About Lawn Care Products and Services." Request brochures by name to receive a free copy with a self-addressed, stamped envelope.

For more information about PLCAA visit www.plcaa.org.