Whether you hold the role of a school administrator, a daycare owner, or any other position that involves constant interaction with children, you understand the crucial nature of your decisions, especially when it comes to planning the safety and functionality of school playgrounds, sports fields, and activity areas.
While various options exist for playground surfaces, such as wood chips, sand, rubber, and mulch, one choice stands out by offering numerous advantages and ultimately ensuring the highest level of safety: artificial turf.
Benefits of Playground Turf
Keep reading as we go through the reasons why your school should absolutely invest in turf for playgrounds.
1. Safe and Soft
Without a doubt, when there are kids involved, the most important consideration of all is: how safe is it?
Many kids love climbing, running, spinning, and jumping to let out some energy. Jungle gyms and other playground equipment are great for this—but can lead to falls, bumps, and scrapes at any time.
Thankfully, playground turf offers a solution by providing a soft and impact-absorbing surface. When those inevitable trips and falls occur, they are less hazardous. Kids can quickly bounce back up and continue playing, experiencing fewer scraped knees and elbows. Moreover, artificial turf is non-abrasive and delightfully soft, enhancing the enjoyment of playtime and rolling around.
In comparison, other surface types are less forgiving. Natural grass, for instance, tends to be relatively hard and does not absorb the shock of a fall. Wood chips, if not well-maintained, can cause splinters upon impact. Surfaces like mulch, gravel, and sand often displace as children play, exposing the hard ground beneath. On the other hand, synthetic turf and grass provide consistent padding that remains intact, and high-quality turf can safeguard kids from falls of up to 10 feet.
Furthermore, at US Turf, all our synthetic lawn products surpass national safety standards. They are recyclable and non-flammable, ensuring an added layer of peace of mind for the well-being of children.
2. Low Maintenance and Durable
As mentioned above, most other types of playground surfaces require a lot of maintenance to stay safe. With artificial turf, fortunately, there’s very minimal maintenance! No mowing, weeding, or fertilizing required.
Rain will typically wash away any dust and dirt—if not, a quick spray-down is all it typically needs. After that, draining is quick and efficient, which means there’s no mud to deal with. Kids can play immediately after it rains, and you won’t get any dirt or mud tracked into your classrooms.
Finally, there’s no waiting for the grass to grow when you make the transition to artificial turf! Installation is quick, and your kids can start enjoying it right away. Artificial turf for your playground can also last up to 20 years, so you’ll be set for quite a while.
3. Allergen-Free and Non-Toxic
Allergies are no fun for anyone! Unfortunately, more than 50 million Americans suffer from allergies each year, including from grass and other pollen.
To make life a little easier, consider investing in allergen-free artificial turf. Manufactured with man-made and hypoallergenic materials, turf allows kids and parents to play without the risk of getting all stuffed up.
Additionally, artificial turf doesn’t require mowing, pesticides, fertilizers, or herbicides, so your kids won’t be exposed to the extra pollen in the air or any toxic chemicals left behind from your lawn maintenance activities. Compare this to rubber mulch— since it’s often made from recycled tires, the long-term safety effects are largely unknown. Why risk it?
4. Looks Great and Performs Year-Round
Is your grounds crew tired of routine maintenance, followed by your kids getting frustrated with the play area being closed for said maintenance?
With artificial turf, this isn’t a concern anymore. That’s because it looks, feels, and performs great all year long! Your play area will look green, lush, welcoming, and beautiful with little maintenance.
Compare this with rubber surfaces, which tend to absorb heat in the summer (ouch!) and become hard and brittle in the winter. Your artificial turf, on the other hand, will stay much cooler to the touch and provides the perfect environment for play. And don’t forget that ugly brown color your natural lawn turns into during those hot summer months, either. Can you guess what happens to your artificial turf? That’s right—nothing! It’ll stay green and gorgeous on the hottest days of the year.
5. Environmentally Friendly
We’ve covered safety, performance, and the look of your turf, but that’s not all it provides. Artificial turf is also an environmentally friendly option, as well as one that can save you money in the long-run. In addition to going chemical-free, you’ll be cutting down on carbon emissions that come from mowers and trimmers. Plus, your artificial turf dramatically reduces your water consumption, since it doesn’t require any watering.
Artificial Turf for Playgrounds with US Turf
With all these compelling reasons in mind, are you ready to make the investment? That’s where we can help. Our kid-safe artificial turf is perfect for parks, schools, daycares, and anywhere else that could benefit from safe, soft, and great-looking artificial grass.
We make our turf to be highly durable specifically to withstand all types of playground equipment and play, and we custom tailor not only the design of your playground turf but also help you select the best infill and yarn (blades of grass) for your needs.
Connect with us today for a free estimate, and see if our playground solutions will work for you!
