SafeLawns.org Launching in DC
With a public launch planned for the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and articles in numerous national magazines due throughout the spring, the SafeLawns.org campaign is fulfilling its promise to engage millions of Americans in the dialogue about natural lawn care.
“I think the phrase we’re hearing most often now is ‘tipping point,’ said Cameron Bonsey, the SafeLawns.org Director of Development. “People are ready to hear this message. SafeLawns.org is a global warming issue, it’s a health and safety issue and it’s a conservation issue all rolled into one. The response has just been phenomenal.”
The hallmark of the campaign is education. More than 30 how-to videos are posted free of charge on the SafeLawns.org site. Featuring PPP publisher Paul Tukey as host, the videos explain the transition to organic lawn care in great detail.
“I have watched each and every video several times,” said John Phillips of Swampscot, Mass. “I’ve heard about natural lawn care, especially from our neighbors in Marblehead who have the Living Lawn program. These videos really spell it out for you in a way that makes it easy to understand.”
Tukey, Bonsey and SafeLawns.org Executive Director, Shep Ogden, have been busy building a coalition of sponsors, educators, speakers so that when the magazine and newspaper articles begin appearing in Men’s Health, Country Living, Ladies Home Journal and others, the site will be as developed as possible. In addition, the group has scheduled dozens of appearances on radio and television, including Martha Stewart’s radio program on the Sirius network.
The SafeLawns.org mission — “to cause a quantum change in consumer and industry behavior” — will happen, according to the founder. Tukey’s book, The Organic Lawn Care Manual, has been one of the fastest selling books of 2007 for its publisher, Storey Publishing.
“We see the writing on the wall about the future of lawn care in North America,” said Tukey. “Americans are spreading millions of tons of toxic materials, and wasting enormous amounts of fossil fuels, all in the name of having a beautiful lawn. Our mission is to show people that you can have that nice lawn without the toxic and wasteful side effects.”
