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TurfMutt Launches Spruce Up Your School Sweepstakes

• By Joshua Bolkan
• 12/08/11

Discovery Education and the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute have launched the Spruce Up Your School Sweepstakes as part of their TurfMutt program.

The winner of the sweepstakes will receive a $5,000 grant to have their school's playground made more environmentally friendly through the addition of trees, shrubs, and more. Two runners-up will also receive green packs, consisting of TurfMutt merchandise worth approximately $50, for up to 40 students in their class. Educators can enter the sweepstakes one time per day at turfmutt.discoveryeducation.com/sweepstakes.cfm.

TurfMutt "offers classroom resources for fostering an appreciation of the environment and green spaces through investigation, activities, and experiments," according to information released by the organizations, and was recently expanded from grades 3-5 to grades K-5.

TurfMutt's free online lessons and resources are designed to get students outside and understand the importance of green spaces through investigating the benefits of landscaping and recycling.

Features of TurfMutt include:

• Standards-aligned science lesson plans with titles such as "Discovering Dirt," and "Using Plants To Save Energy;"
• Educational videos;
• Puzzles;
• Classroom activities; and
• An interactive online map for exploring the different ecosystems across the United States.

"TurfMutt has helped open my students' eyes to a new way of learning about our nations' various ecosystems and has inspired them to take a deeper interest in preserving their environment," said Wendy Palese, a fourth and fifth grade teacher for Mechanicsburg Area School District in Pennsylvania. "The interactive, kid-friendly TurfMutt website is more intriguing than ordinary classroom materials and encourages students to explore and research science beyond what they read about in their textbooks."

For more information about TurfMutt, visit turfmutt.discoveryeducation.com.