You might be taking a summer vacation this year, but did you know your living landscape (grass, trees, shrubs, and flowering plants) never takes a break? Even when we’re sleeping or spending time away from home, our family yards are working hard for us, providing important environmental and health benefits. The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) uncovers the top five benefits our living landscapes deliver, without us even realizing it.

Family yards cool our communities.

Grass makes our communities cooler – and not just in the popularity sense. Lawns can be 31 degrees cooler than asphalt and 20 degrees cooler than bare soil, according to the National Association of Landscape Professionals. This helps reduce the heat island effect – the phenomenon where cities are hotter than rural areas because of the concentration of concrete and hardscapes.

Living landscapes make us healthier.

Dutch researchers found people who live within a half mile of green space had a lower incidence of 15 diseases — including depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and migraines.

Our family yards make us happier.

Researchers at the University of Illinois discovered children’s stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces.

Grass captures carbon.

Carbon sinks absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Turfgrass is the largest carbon sink in the country, removing about six tons of CO2 per year from the atmosphere.

Living landscapes improve property values.

In addition to enhancing our lifestyle, our grass, trees, shrubs and other greenery improve curb appeal and can increase home values by as much as 17 percent, according to researchers at Texas Tech University.

To learn more about the importance of your family yard and other living landscapes and how to care for them in any climate or environment go to LivingLandscapesMatter.com.