CO Organic Turf Webinar
Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023
12 - 1:30pm via Zoom Register now »
The City of Longmont has successfully transitioned the turf management in two of its premier parks to organic practices, setting a remarkable example of sustainable land management. Ben Gratton, Longmont’s Park Supervisor, has led the effort and will generously share his depth of experience.
Join the City of Longmont, PPAN, Beyond Pesticides, and Osborne Organics as we explore sound approaches to park and turf management with insights and strategies you can apply in your own communities. You will leave the webinar with next steps for getting started in an organic transition, including funding and implementation support.
NOTE: This technical webinar is specially tailored for municipal staff and leaders, and land management professionals interested in learning more about Longmont’s turf management process.
Share this event with park managers and staff in YOUR community!
Presenter Bios:
Ben Gratton
A Colorado native and Colorado State University graduate, Ben has been maintaining and transforming municipal landscapes across the Front Range for nearly 15 years. Using his degree in Landscape Horticulture, his work as a Parks Supervisor has helped the City of Longmont's more than 600 acres become more sustainable with organic maintenance, turf grass conversions, pollinator gardens, and reimagining traditional landscapes.
Jay Feldman
Founder and Executive Director of Beyond Pesticides, Jay has a 40-year history of working with communities nationwide on toxics and organic policies and practices, addressing agricultural, lawn, and landscape management practices that maintain ecological balance, enhance biodiversity, and eliminate toxic chemical use. Jay has successfully fought to remove from the market hazardous pesticides and helped draft pivotal local, state, and federal organic law, including the Agricultural Productivity Act, which established sustainable agriculture programs at USDA, and the Organic Foods Production Act, which created the USDA organic certified food label.
In 2010, he was appointed by the Obama Administration to a 5-year appointment to the National Organic Standards Board, where he served as chair of the Crops Committee. He currently serves on the standards board of the Real Organic Project and the executive committee of the National Organic Coalition. Jay has a Masters in urban and regional planning with a focus on health policy from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and a B.A. from Grinnell College (IA).
Chip Osborne
Charles “Chip” Osborne, Jr., is President of Osborne Organics, LLC, and Founder of the Organic Landscape Association. He has over 20 years experience in creating safe, sustainable and healthy athletic fields and landscapes through natural turf management along with 50 years experience as a professional horticulturist. As a wholesale and retail nurseryman, he has first-hand experience with the pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides routinely used in landscape and horticultural industry.
Personal experience led him to believe there must be a safer way to grow plants. His personal investigation, study of conventional and organic soil science practices, and hands-on experimentation led him to become one of the country’s leading experts on growing sustainable, natural turf.
Chip is a regular lecturer for the Northeast Organic Farming Association, a Beyond Pesticides Board Member, Chairman of the Marblehead, Massachusetts’ Recreation and Parks Department, and speaker nationwide on the topic of turf management for athletic fields and landscapes.
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