IT’S A DOG'S LIFE

educators and families since 2009, showing them how they can “save the planet, one yard at a time.”

As part of the program’s outreach, each year TurfMutt awards grants to schools to use for “greening” up the school environment, contribute to an outdoor classroom or other environmental endeavor of the school’s choosing.

Kris Kiser makes it easy for Lucky (aka the TurfMutt) and Dottie to get acquainted.

Rescue dog Lucky (aka the TurfMutt), and his owner, Kris Kiser, president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI), appeared on the CBS Emmy award-winning “Lucky Dog” show on May 7, 2016. Te heart-warming episode showed the adoption of an older rescue dog, Dottie, with Lucky and Kiser welcoming her into their home. Kiser also shared helpful advice on how to have a great yard for your pet.

Te “Lucky Dog” show follows animal trainer Brandon McMillan, who rescues dogs that have been written off as hard-to-love, out-of-control, untrained and un-adoptable.

On June 7, 2016, TurfMutt, the outdoor education and environmental stewardship program led by the OPEI Research and Education Foundation, signed an agreement for a second season with the Emmy-award winning, Lucky Dog television show on CBS and is expanding its relationship with global children’s media and education publisher, Scholastic.

Te new episodes of “Lucky Dog” will feature TurfMutt messages for viewers about how to create a quality, living landscape and outdoor space for the health and well-being of families and their pets. In a recent Nielsen Harris poll, 67 percent of women and 54 percent of men said that they were interested in learning about how a yard provides a safe place for families to gather and for children and pets to play.

Kiser, the creative force behind TurfMutt, says, “Tis expansion is a natural outgrowth of the TurfMutt program and we know these expanded partnerships will help us reach even more people.”

Te national TurfMutt program has raised awareness about the importance of living landscapes and our yards to communities and families for the last seven years. Te program has reached more than 62 million children,

TPI Turf News July/August 2016

Tis year, students in California and Virginia brought home accolades for winning the TurfMutt “Be a Backyard Superhero” contest and each earned their school a $5,000 grant. Since 2010, the TurfMutt program has awarded $35,000 to schools.

The 2016 K-2 grand prize winner was Ali Tomlinson of Playa Vista, CA, who attends Playa Vista Elementary school. Her entry was “Teamwork Makes The Dream Work,” a story about how TurfMutt and the outdoor powers saved a neighborhood. The 2016 grades 3-5 grand prize winner was Kashvi Ramani, of Ashburn, VA, who attends Belmont Station Elementary school. Ramani’s entry was the program’s first-ever original rap song, “Outdoor Saviors,” which she and her classmates performed.

Other new program developments include an expanded www.TurfMutt.com site, a new digital storybook, and fresh educational activities for the 2016-2017 school year.

TurfMutt is an official sponsor of the national 2016 Fido Friendly Route 66 Pet Adoption Tour in September. Kiser and McMillan both will attend. Kiser says, “Our pets are an important part of our lives, and who better to be an ambassador for the value of green spaces than a dog? Green spaces today are under attack—from neglect and from a lack of awareness about the benefits they offer.”

TurfMutt program materials are free and aligned to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) standards, and in 2017 TurfMutt will join the initial launch of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Learning Lab.

TurfMutt’s focus on environmental stewardship and best practices for water use and landscape maintenance have been widely accepted among educators, youth and families. TurfMutt is an education resource at the U.S. Department of Education’s Green Ribbon Schools, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Green Apple, the Center for Green Schools, the Outdoors Alliance for Kids, the National Energy Education Development (NEED) project, Climate Change Live, Petfinder and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Information and photo courtesy of OPEI.

63