• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Internationally Known Gardening Expert to Lead National Campaign for Natural Lawn Care

Posted on: Monday, 8 January 2007, 09:01 CST

Organic gardening pioneer Shepherd Ogden has been named executive director for SafeLawns.org, a new national effort to help Americans learn how to grow their lawns using natural products and techniques. A high-resolution photo is available at http://www.safelawns.org/img/Shepherd_Ogden.jpg.

Mr. Ogden founded The Cooks Garden, one of the nation's premier seed and supply companies, in 1983. He has been an author, lecturer, consultant and organic market gardener for 30 years and his five gardening books are sold throughout the world. Mr. Ogden is frequently featured in gardening magazines as well as the general consumer media including the New York Times, USA Today, Parade, Forbes, Time, Newsweek and The Today Show and Martha Stewart Living TV Show.

At SafeLawns.org, Mr. Ogden will champion the health, social and economic advantages of organic lawn care. "The chemical solutions that have been sold to homeowners over the last 50 years are clearly antithetical to the health needs of Americans and are no longer the best way to achieve a beautiful green lawn. Chemical companies have spent millions persuading us that we need a chemical solution. But we want to let American families know they have been sold a poisoned bill of goods. Even more importantly, we want to show them a better solution. The newest science-based generation of products and techniques will allow them to have the lawn of their dreams without endangering their families and pets, without poisoning the environment and without further contributing to global warming."

SafeLawns.org founder Paul Tukey, the creator of People, Places & Plants magazine and TV show, says Mr. Ogden is the most credible choice to lead the national effort. "Shep's vision, passion, experience and intellect are the perfect fit for SafeLawns.org. Our goals are huge and revolutionary. We are small and grassroots and taking on a multi-billion dollar industry. Having Shep Ogden, who is known and trusted around the world, is an enormous boost to the campaign."

Lawns currently cover 40 to 50 million acres in the U.S. and most are grown with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. A growing body of research finds that synthetic chemicals are known to pollute soil and water and cause health problems for humans and animals. The resources and short informational videos available at www.safelawns.org will be geared toward promoting natural alternatives.

Mr. Ogden and Mr. Tukey plan to also work with the existing landscaping industry, which still relies primarily on chemicals. Not only are those workers particularly at risk, but the consumer market is moving quickly toward a more natural approach. The gardening industry itself is relatively flat in recent years and the only area of growth is in natural products, which now make up 10% of products sold but is growing by 25% per year.

Shep Ogden was trained in environmental journalism at the University of Massachusetts. His books include The Cooks' Garden, Step by Step to Organic Vegetable Gardening, Step by Step Organic Flower Gardening, The New American Kitchen Garden and Straight Ahead Organic.

About SafeLawns.org

SafeLawns.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting natural lawn care. Its mission is to create a broad-based coalition of non- and for-profit organizations committed to educating society about the benefits of organic lawn care and gardening, and affecting a quantum change in consumer and industry behavior. For more information, please visit www.safelawns.org.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category