Welcome to the Week’s Review of Canine Social Media
Celebrate this year’s Earth Day with your dog on April 22nd.
What is the best way to celebrate Earth Day and help to make a difference on the planet for you and your dog(s)?
The TurfMutt Foundation, which advocates for the care and use of our backyards, community parks, and other green spaces, says Earth Day (April 22) is the perfect time to practice being a master backyarder.
“Backyarding” is the act of taking activities that we normally do inside, out to our yards and parks. Master backyarders elevate backyarding, using their personal and community green space for everything from working and exercising to entertaining and relaxing.
“Every day is Earth Day for master backyarders. They plant for pollinators, know to put the right plant in the right place, and recognize their backyard as an important part of the connected 
ecosystem.”
Here are a few ways to encourages everyone to use Earth Day as an opportunity to practice being a master backyarder.
- Remember the “Golden Rule” of Backyarding: Right plant, right place. Putting the right plant in the right place is the key to successful master backyarding. It goes beyond identifying plants that will do better in sun versus shade. Master backyarders select plants that will thrive in their climate zone and work to create a backyard that supports their family’s lifestyle. To learn more about selecting the right plants for your yard, refer to the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
- Plant with pollinators in mind. Master backyarders understand that our yards and community parks are an important part of the connected ecosystem, providing food and shelter for pollinators. They plant with birds, bees, butterflies, bats, and other creatures in mind.
- Water wisely. After getting their new plants started, master backyarders only water when necessary. They install watering solutions – like smart controllers on irrigation systems – to help use water efficiently while maintaining a living landscape. They remember that over-watered grass gets lazy, growing roots in a horizontal pattern. But with less water, grass sends its roots deeper – vertically – seeking water. By working harder, grass does a better job performing its environmental superpowers like sequestering carbon and releasing oxygen.
Link to USDA Map in new window
- Bone up on backyard benefits. Master backyarders are tuned into the many benefits of spending time in backyards and community parks, and they use the outdoors for all sorts of activities like dining, entertaining, working and even vacationing. For humans, backyarding benefits include lower stress, increased happiness, and improved memory. For the health of the planet, green space captures carbon, produces oxygen, and prevents runoff.
- Watch Lucky Dog on CBS for inspiration. Master backyarders aren’t too proud to take their backyarding cues from their furry friends. Afterall, no one loves and appreciates yards and green spaces more than dogs. On Earth Day, the TurfMutt Foundation will be featured on the CBS show Lucky Dog. This episode highlights the Mulligan’s Mutt Madness pet adoption event at Equip Exposition, which helps rescue dogs find forever homes. Watch Lucky Dog on Earth Day to get inspired to create the yard of your – and your dog’s – dreams.
- Link to TurfMutt offers a US interactive planting map and links to their newsletter and free book about planting and improving your backyard.
Some wonderful dog situations from Social Media
Click to enlarge pics and for slide show view
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