Go Touch Grass: What is lost when we use artificial turf?

Something strange is happening on Pennsylvania’s playing fields: The smell of freshly cut grass and damp earth is being replaced by the odor of petroleum and repurposed rubber. In urban areas, herbaceous fields are being traded for a groundcovering that fosters neither pollinating life, microbial colonies, nor imagination. The cool ground once suited for enjoying sunny days is being replaced by a mat of potentially scalding hot plastic that deters city kids from exploring its threads. A skid across first base no longer leaves streaks of brown and green on their clothing; instead, forever chemicals, microplastics, and roadway pollutants embed themselves in the clothing and skin.  

There is a lot that we stand to gain from interaction with real grass. When deciding whether to convert our green spaces from natural foliage to artificial turf, we tend to emphasize the weight of artificial turf's negative effects. But a critical part of this picture is an examination of what we take for granted–-the ways that exposure to plant life enhance and enrich our lives. 

Join us to explore the many ways we benefit when we Go Touch Grass.

Benefits of Green Space to the Environment

“When we try to pick out anything by itself,

we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe." 

          –John Muir, My First Summer in the Sierra (1911)

Whether we choose to acknowledge this fundamental truth or not, humans are part of the natural world. The quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink—and the safety and beauty of our surroundings—shape our health, well-being, and development in profound ways. Disruptions to a safe and stable environment can lead to the perception of unmet needs, hindering our ability to effectively interact with the world. A healthier environment benefits all of those who live within it, making it necessary to deliberately create and maintain islands of greenery in urban spaces.The following are ways that natural plant life improves our living conditions and contributes to social, mental, and physical health.

• Vegetation and soil reduce ambient noise such as traffic.

• Grass captures carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A soccer field can absorb the equivalent to the emissions of a car driving  3,000 miles!    

• Grass also captures and retains particulate matter, leading to better air quality.

• Natural ground coverings help to reduce contamination of local water sources by serving as a protective buffer and filter.

• Evapotranspiration: Natural foliage cools surrounding areas through the evaporation of water from leaves and blades. Grass may be as much as 30 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than asphalt! 

  Benefits of Green Space to Physical Health

“We are more like a system than a single unit. All biology is ecology.”

–Zoe Schlanger, The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers New Understanding of Life on Earth (2024)

As Schlanger so eloquently expressed above, the health of our environment directly influences our ability to thrive. This impact goes beyond limiting exposures to what is harmful. Our ability to foster positive interactions with the natural world also positively influences human health. Aside from protecting human health by improving our environment, interaction with plant life provides us with an array of direct health benefits. Some of these benefits to our physical health are:

• Exposure to phytoncides (produced to protect plants from insects) is associated with amplified production of Natural Killer T Cells, which destroy cancer cells. 

• Developmental green space exposure is associated with a decreased risk of developing certain allergies and immunodeficiencies. 

• Increased green space exposure is associated with reduced risk of hypertension, diabetes, and obesity.

• Green spaces are considered a protective factor against respiratory diseases, such as asthma.

• Access to green spaces is associated with reduced cortisol (stress hormone) production.

• Green space exposure is associated with improved sleep quality and duration.   

• Quality green space access is associated with improved gestational outcomes. 

Benefits of Green Space to Mental Health

"One does not walk into the forest and accuse the trees of being off-center, nor do they visit the shore and call the waves imperfect. So why do we look at ourselves this way?"

–Alice Walker, Activist and Author

A major component of individual well-being relates to our ability to find connection and a sense of place in the world. Our behavior towards humans, animals, and our environment all have the potential to contribute to our sense of identity. Increasing opportunities to explore this sense of self allows for the kind of cognitive development that bolsters resilience. While it is clear that reduced levels of stress, improved environment, and better sleep quality will lead to better overall psychological well-being, there are even more mental health benefits that plant life exposure can provide:

• Exposure to green spaces reduces ADHD symptoms in adults and children.

• Green space exposure is considered a protective factor against childhood depression.

• Green space exposure is associated with an increased ability to cope with difficult life events. Those with limited green space exposure have up to a 55% increased likelihood of developing a mental illness.

• Time spent in green spaces is positively associated with overall cognitive functioning and elevated scores on measures of intelligence. 

• In remote and extreme environments, such as polar research stations and space missions, plant interaction can alleviate cognitive fatigue, reduce monotony, and strengthen team cohesion.

• Interaction with organic plant life can enhance feelings of connectedness to the environment, community, and even our ancestors. Some are genetically predisposed to obtaining this feeling from nature!

The Developmental Benefits of Green Space for Children and Adolescents

“The world is not given by (our) fathers, but borrowed from our children.”

Wendell Berry, The Unforeseen Wilderness: Kentucky’s Red River Gorge (1971)

While we can all benefit from interactions with the natural world, these benefits are amplified in children and adolescents. The reasons for this are varied and rely heavily on the interplay between environment and developmental processes. In our formative years, we begin to lay the physical and psychological foundations for what will be needed to survive. These foundations are structured based upon the environment we are exposed to during development. Increasing exposure to green spaces containing natural foliage during development is associated with: 

• Improved vision by decreasing rates of myopia. 

• Increases in prosocial behavior, such as empathy, enhancing overall social functioning.

• Increased creativity, curiosity, and scientific thinking. 

• Early exposure to green spaces has the potential to alter gene expression, leading to improved long-term physical and psychosocial health outcomes.

With all we gain from exposure to natural plant life, we must consider the experiences we are taking from urban youth when we further limit these opportunities. All facets of human well-being are touched when we choose soil and cellulose over plastic and tire mulch. Give into the world we evolved to exist in: Go Touch Grass!