The golden arches are going green and NewGrass is helping out – at least at one McDonald’s in Southern California.

Along with testing solar technology to generate its electricity needs, a McDonald’s restaurant in Pacific Beach, near drought-stricken San Diego, will be installing a strip of NewGrass artificial grass to see how the synthetic lawn performs over time, evaluate customer reaction, and compare the costs of installation, watering and maintenance against sod grass, said NewGrass president Greg Goehner.

As part of its landscaping when it installed the solar panels, the McDonald’s franchise also laid down sod grass and a watering system that side of the building. At the suggestion of Goehner, the restaurant in early December will install a similarly sized strip of NewGrass on the opposite side of the building.

“I saw those solar panels, and I thought, holy cow, how can they be so environmentally conscious regarding their electricity and be planting turf grass right under those panels when this area is in a drought,” Goehner said. “And you add in the costs and potential environmental hazards of pesticides and herbicides, and it just doesn’t make sense. NewGrass is an environmentally aware alternative.”

The City of San Diego declared a Level 2 Drought Alert on June 1, limiting landscape irrigation for homes and business to three times a week, for no more than 10 minutes for each watering from November 1 through May 31, and no more than seven minutes for each watering between June 1 and October 31.

The McDonald’s, on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, recently became the first restaurant in the nationwide fast food chain to be powered by solar energy, according to news reports. The restaurant installed “solar panel trees” – solar panels that can be removed and relocated – on the roof of its parking shade. The 14-kilowatt system will help McDonald’s reduce its carbon emissions by 16 metric tons annually, the company reported.

Goehner personally approached the manager of the McDonald’s and suggested they replace the turf grass with NewGrass. Having already paid for the newly planted sod, the restaurant agreed to let NewGrass instead install a test strip on the opposite side of the building.

“We’re confident they’ll see the difference in a pretty short amount of time,” Goehner said.

The solar tree panels also include charging stations, where customers can charge electric vehicles while enjoying a Happy Meal. The project will serve as a case study for the restaurant chain to determine whether the technology should be widely implemented, according to The San Diego Source, an online news publication.

NewGrass® is growing rapidly in California – and for reasons as varied as the locations of the projects and the different needs that our eco-friendly artificial lawn meets.

Environmentally safe NewGrass® synthetic grass from NewGrass Landscape & Design is being chosen to meet landscaping and water-conservation challenges from the backyard of a patio home in Huntington Beach, south of Los Angeles, to the front yard of a single-family home in Petaluma, north of San Francisco.

Customers from Orange County to Sonoma County and places in between say they opted for fake grass – and specifically chose NewGrass artificial grass and NewGrass Landscape & Design – for reasons that range from simply being tired of mowing a natural sod grass to a desire to save water and cut down on their water bills.

“I’m old and can’t cut grass anymore, that’s why I went with fake grass,” said 80-year-old Joe Schneider of Tracy, Calif. In fact, Schneider had no lawn at all since he moved into his San Joaquin County home eight years ago.

“I had slow plans to fix up the yard, and then my daughter came to live with us and said we had to fix the yard up,” Schneider said of his home in the Central Valley.

Schneider said he chose NewGrass® because it was the “most prominent” faux grass to pop up in his Internet search.

Tom Brice, of Placentia also said ease of maintenance was why he chose waterless grass for his patio home.

“It’s simply a much better look for the maintenance it requires, that’s for sure,” Brice said of his Orange County home’s new landscaping.

Brice chose NewGrass® and NewGrass Landscape & Design primarily for the price.

“I bought the best one I could afford,” he said.

Water conservation and high water bills meanwhile persuaded Joni and Bob Dyson to choose artificial grass for their 1,300 square foot corner lot in San Mateo.

“Our lawn was shot, it needed to be re-sod, and with our water bill the way it was, and in the middle of a draught, it didn’t make any sense to us to spend the money for sod and irrigation, and then not be able to water it because of the draught.”

NewGrass® from NewGrass Landscape & Design allowed the Dysons to triple the size of their landscaped yard in the San Francisco Bay area, while also cutting their water bill. They’d already nearly stopped watering their lawn to save water and money.

The Dysons looked at other fake grass companies but were first impressed with the quick initial response from Larry Reno at NewGrass Landscape & Design and said they were sold on his professionalism, knowledge and concern for their unique needs.

“Our yard is a showcase now,” Bob Dyson said.

NewGrass® artificial grass, which is increasingly recognized as the eco-friendly synthetic lawn for home and commercial landscaping, is now earning a reputation as a superior no-water lawn for athletic fields.

NewGrass Rye was recently installed on a 4,500-square-foot field at a new national-chain fitness center in suburban Denver. Not only are the members and management pleased with the look and feel of the lawn, local news media have also given it two thumbs up.

“The grass looked and felt great,” said Joana Canals, a certified fitness instructor and reporter for Fox television in Denver.

The field was installed by Mile High Synthetic Turf, an authorized NewGrass® distributor based in Brighton, Colo.

“We’re very proud of this job and one reason is that the grass has performed so well for the athletes,” said Bart Stoneback, owner of Mile High Synthetic Turf. “It really proves the range of uses for NewGrass lawns.”

Canals recently reported for Fox 31 about the SPARQ Training program that is conducted on the field of NewGrass Rye. SPARQ, which stands for speed, agility, reaction and quickness, uses technology and a smarter training approach to improve the performance of high school and other team athletes.

SPARQ Training includes a variety of tests on the waterless NewGrass field. Canals reported on the program as a group of high school football players went through the training, and she later did the training herself.

“You guys did a great job on the grass,” Canals told NewGrass®.

In addition to having the look and feel of real grass for athletes, NewGrass® artificial grass is also lead-safe and 100% recyclable.

One of the great things about NewGrass® artificial lawn is how many uses people seem to find for it.

Sure, NewGrass® is still most popular as the eco-friendly, water-wise alternative to sod grass for residential landscaping. But NewGrass® also has been used in portrait studios, on inner-city rooftop terraces and for trade show displays, to name just a few different kinds of applications that are as smart in use as they are smart-looking.

San Francisco portrait photographer Jeffrey Alexander said he chose NewGrass® to simulate real grass in his studio after experimenting for years with other options, including sod grass and carpeting.

Neiman Marcus and JC Penney designers have also chosen NewGrass® for their studio.

NewGrass® is often chosen over natural turf by studio photographers for two simply reasons. First, they live and work in areas that don’t have a dependable supply of soft, green sod grass in the middle of winter. Second, NewGrass® is a no-muss, no-fuss, easy-to-set up and totally reusable alternative to real grass for studio photography.

Sears, Roebuck and Co. used NewGrass® as the floor covering for a recent trade show display to show off spring designs.

The TV show Dinner & a Movie used NewGrass® synthetic lawn to help transform a barren downtown rooftop into an attractive outdoor living space.

“NewGrass® is a great choice for a rooftop terrace,” said company president Greg Goehner. “Even when it’s wet, after a rain or snowfall, a NewGrass installation won’t impact a building with standard weight-being limitations.”

The rate at which NewGrass drains water are one reason it’s safe for rooftops and terraces. The fact that its Premium Rye and Rye varieties look great even without an infill are another reason, Goehner said.

Fort Worth, TX. – Professional photographers from coast to coast say that NewGrass® artificial lawn is the perfect choice for an easy-to-use, no muss, no fuss, natural-looking outdoor setting in the studio year-round.

Commercial portrait studios as far apart as Rhode Island and California, and stylists with Neiman Marcus and JC Penney, have chosen NewGrass® for their studio work.

“It’s great stuff for photography, and I’ve tried a lot of different options,” said Jeffrey Alexander, whose Alexander Imaging in San Francisco specializes in children’s portraits.

NewGrass® is often chosen over natural turf because in most regions of the country, photographers simply don’t have access to a dependable supply of soft, green sod grass in the middle of winter.

“I’m shooting portraits for Easter and spring now, in the middle of winter,” Alexander said. ”I need something that looked fairly real. soft, lifelike, and green.”

Sometimes, NewGrass® is the preferred choice after photographers have tried other artificial materials, including other kinds of synthetic grass. Alexander said that theatrical grass, for example, looked too fake in close-up photography.

Then there’s the ease of handling NewGrass compared with natural sod for studio photographers. It doesn’t require the water, trimming and maintenance of sod grass under the harsh lights of a studio. It’s stays looking fresh longer than natural grass and it’s easier to “fluff” during a shoot than natural grass, and you can pick it up and store it.

Jay Williams, a stylist for Neiman Marcus in Dallas, needed green grass for a spring-themed children’s clothing shoot recently. He found NewGrass through an Internet search.

“It worked out great.” Williams said. “I needed something quick. First, NewGrass was able to get me the product right away. We pitched tents on top of it. We had a great time. It was a hit.”

“Now,” he said, “it’s rolled up and in my garage. Easy.”

NewGrass™ continues to gain North America media attention as representative of the leading edge of today’s synthetic lawn industry.

Newspapers in Arizona, Tennessee, California, Texas, Virgina, New York, Massachusetts, Alabama, Georgia, and Toronto, Canada, have picked up and published a recent Associated Press article written by Dean Fosdick that focused specifically on NewGrass™ for families looking for alternatives to natural turf.

Upcoming articles are also in the development stage at other print and online publications; more about those when they appear.

Here is a copy of Fosdick’s article.

By DEAN FOSDICK
FOR THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Homeowners who threaten to pave over their lawns to escape time-consuming mowing and weeding chores aren’t just joking anymore.

Families are increasingly replacing or reducing the size of their thirsty, turf-covered yards by “hardscaping” or substituting a variety of non-plant materials.

Hardscaping can include installing such things as walkways, retaining walls, patios, built-in barbecue grills, fences, hot tubs, swimming pools and ponds. Low-maintenance materials like stone, concrete, crushed rock or shredded bark are the materials of choice. Anything but grass.

Busy lifestyles and the desire to recharge in garden rooms or on decks rather than spend precious leisure time manicuring and shaping lawns are helping drive the trend.

Lawn and garden sales have been trending downward over the past few years, while hardscaping sales are up, the National Gardening Association says.

But if you’re not a fan of rock collecting or looking at inorganic yard clutter, you don’t have to face a garden shorn of the green grassy look. There’s always artificial turf.

The artificial turf developed for backyard use isn’t the synthetic stuff of athletic fields, however. “The blades are significantly shorter. It’s like a manicured lawn,” said Trevor Brooks, executive vice president, marketing, for NewGrass in Scottsdale, Ariz., one such product.

“The market is growing exponentially,” said Brooks, whose company began operations just a few years ago. “Our biggest (sales) area is in the Southwest but we also are getting a lot of interest in the New York area. Water conservation is a major issue. It also makes more sense to use it in shaded areas and places hard to get to with real grass.

“It’s a little more expensive upfront,” Brooks said. “But there’s no maintenance. No water costs. You don’t have to mow the lawn. In the long run, the (artificial) grass pays for itself in three years. There’s also a manufacturer’s warranty on color fade,” he said. “It won’t show any wear and tear.”

Like many such synthetic products, NewGrass comes in several different varieties. The NewGrass blades are made primarily from polyethylene, the same compound found in everyday plastic water bottles. It is marketed in three varieties: premium-quality rye, which sells for $4.99 per square foot; the monofilament fescue which is priced at $3.99; and the broadloom tufted synthetic “sport” with a taller, 2-inch pile height, that sells for $3.79.

Artificial turfs provide greenery year-round and they are free of weeds, turf dust and the allergens they can cause. “Back yard to school yard, the right choice for any application,” NewGrass says on its Web site.

“Around here (Southwest), you’re beginning to see a lot of xeriscaping - people making over their front yards with rocks and drought-resistant plants,” Brooks said. “But a lot of people from our Phoenix area came originally from somewhere else. They’re used to lawns but they want an easy-care alternative.”

Some people may scoff at the idea of putting down artificial turf, but it’s a beautiful, beneficial alternative to real lawns, Brooks said.

“Ours looks so real I’ve had people come up to me and ask how much water it needs.”

TEMPE, Ariz. – Synthetic grasses like NewGrass™ may get hotter than natural turf under a harsh sun, but they also cool off very quickly when you step on them, a long-term research project has concluded.

The findings are important because for years, artificial lawns have had a bad reputation for heating up to uncomfortable and possibly harmful temperatures in some climates. But until now, an impartial source had not studied the cooling properties of synthetic grasses.

Artificial grass also doesn’t fade under the extreme Arizona sun, the study is showing.

The findings are from a long-term, ongoing water conservation research project sponsored by the country’s third-largest public utility company. The Salt River Project (SRP) is sponsoring the research as part of its ongoing efforts to help give consumers new and better information about water conservation alternatives. The project has put synthetic grass side-by-side with natural local grasses and xeriscaping.

After more than 1½ years of observing, testing and evaluating several plots of artificial grass, the SRP says it can give synthetic grass the thumbs up as a genuine water conservation alternative.,

“It seems durable. It hasn’t faded. It needs a little maintenance, but really next to none,” said Marc Campbell, a water planning analyst with utility provider and director of the research project. “You need to rake it from time to time to keep the blades looking full. And you need to hose it off to remove the dust that inevitably lands on it, with the winds and dust we get here.”

SRP tested the differences in temperature between the synthetic grass, asphalt, xeriscape landscape and natural grass. And while the synthetic grass can get quite hot, especially under central Arizona’s harsh summer sun it also cooled off quickly underfoot and has never gotten so hot that it’s burned anyone’s feet, Campbell said.

“You couldn’t stand on that asphalt without burning your feet, but the synthetic turf cooled down rapidly under the foot … since it doesn’t retain heat,” Campbell said,

Campbel also said that in the shade, synthetic grass didn’t heat up as much as asphalt and cooled much more quickly.

CASA GRANDE, Ariz. – After years of throwing away money trying to turn the proverbial sow’s ear into a silk purse, one Arizona elementary school has decided to install synthetic grass in its playground rather than keep trying to grow the natural stuff.

“We’ve been fighting this battle for years now; we tried several times to grow our own grass,” said Laurie Ocampo, principal of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School in Casa Grande, Ariz. “We’d plant grass and get it growing, and the minute the kids would get on it, it would be torn up, and we would end up with a dirt playground.”

It wasn’t just the wear and tear caused by the school’s 340 or so students that undermined the school’s attempts to grow a playground of natural grass.

The school is in the very arid Southwest, nearly 30 miles south of Phoenix. The ground is tough and by nature, does not welcome nature grass.

“We looked into alternatives and decided that synthetic grass just made more sense,” Ocampo said. St. Anthony chose to have STC (Synthetic Turf Company) of nearby Scottsdale install a variety of NewGrass™ brand synthetic lawn.

Ocampo joined St. Anthony after the school had decided to install an artificial lawn on its 11,000-square-foot playground. So, she was unfamiliar with artificial lawns before watching the installation at her school earlier this summer.

“I didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “I had never seen artificial lawns installed in such a big area. They (the STC installation team) explained it all to me, the steps involved. And it was all done in a week.”

“It’s beautiful,” Ocampo said of the completed installation. “It looks like a park.”
The results have garnered similarly positive reviews from residents in the school’s neighborhood.

“People walk by, and they say, ‘Wow, what have you done with the lawn this summer? Boy, you really must be watering this a lot,’” she said. “We’ve had a lot of compliments on it.”

Ocampo concedes, however, that the true test for the installation will come when the students return from summer vacation.

“If they like it, and if they don’t tear it up, then it’s a real success,” she said.

Based on how the lawn fares under the children’s treatment, St. Anthony may look into installing NewGrass™ in its smaller pre-school yard, Ocampo said.

“We’ll see how the big one does first,” she said.

Combined with their durability and being “live” all year long, artificial grasses are becoming popular alternatives for many schoolyards. This is especially true where natural grass simply can’t grow in playground areas or has been worn down to the dirt through repeated use.

NewGrass™ is installed with a layer of fine sand within and under the blades. This has the practical effect of keeping the blades lifted and looking fresh. On a play area or schoolyard, it has the added advantage of providing another level of cushioning.

Two other playground culprits — the dust and dirt a typical schoolyard can create —are meanwhile eliminated with a synthetic grass.

They say a picture is worth 1,000 words. If it is, then all you might need to persuade yourself to choose an artificial lawn for your yard is to picture your yard with a new synthetic lawn against your existing turf yard in the off season – or against your neighbor’s lawn any time of year.

Perhaps the most common reason to consider an artificial lawn is because it can give you a beautiful, fade-resistant and maintenance-free lawn anywhere. This is especially true when you install one of the new-generation, high-quality artificial grasses like NewGrass™ from Scottsdale-based NewGrass, Inc.

A synthetic lawn can fit perfectly in the middle of the desert, in a busy city center or in suburbia. It works on a large residential thoroughfare or a quiet cul-de-sac.

• Not having to maintain a lawn anymore is usually the biggest selling point. Caring for a traditional lawn requires so much hassle and expense. Many homeowners have other reasons to get rid of the time and aggravations of upkeep that a turf yard demands.
• Maybe you like to travel – or your business requires you to be away from home. Many people choose an artificial lawn because they can leave home for as long as they want and not worry about whether their grass will survive. They don’t need to worry about setting sprinkler settings or having their lawn maintained while they’re out of town.
• Maybe your health or age doesn’t allow you to put the time and energy into yard upkeep. Many NewGrass™ customers say they choose an artificial lawn simply because they want to put more of their valuable time and energy into tasks they enjoy more than taking care of a turf lawn.
• Many homeowners choose synthetic grass simply because they consider it more environmentally responsible than having a natural-turf lawn in arid or drought-plagued regions of the United States. Artificial grass does not need to be watered, fertilized, mowed or treated with pesticides. Environmentalists and a growing number of water conservation organizations and cities endorse synthetic lawns because they save water and also have the benefit of not requiring pesticides.
• Many homeowners and commercial property owners choose synthetic grass because they get tired of their dogs ruining their natural turf yards. The new-generation artificial grasses are incredibly close to the real thing – and dogs and kids agree! NewGrass™, for example, has been selected for its pet runs by three of the most recognized pet resorts in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area.