Lawn and garden hoe down
Submitted by Robyn Duncan on April 12, 2011 - 23:46
Kimberley, BC - The snow may be taking
a little longer than usual to melt from our yards but there's no doubt
that gardening season will soon be here. Enter, Paul Tukey, organic
lawn and garden care expert and author of the best selling Organic Lawn
Care Manual. Tukey will be in Kimberley on April 20 to lead public
workshops on organic lawn and garden care and screen his film "A
Chemical Reaction". Both the free workshops and film screening will be
held at Centre 64. "We
started talking to Paul about coming to Kimberley last year shortly
after Council passed our cosmetic pesticide bylaw" said Helen Sander,
Wildsight Kimberley/Cranbrook Program Manager. "He seemed like the
ideal person to come to help our community make the transition to
natural lawn care practises. Paul is in high demand and we're pretty
pleased that we managed to book him for a tour during Earth Week." Tukey
makes upwards of 100 appearances a year across North America. He was
named Horticultural Communicator of the Year Award by the American
Horticultural Society and has been featured in thousands of media
outlets from Good Morning America in the U.S., to the CBC, as well as
National Geographic and Readers Digest. The New York Times called him
the godfather of the natural lawn care movement. "The
idea is that people who aren't quite sure of how to make the transition
to natural lawn and garden care will come out to a workshop and pick up
some tips," said Sander. "Paul will be giving two workshops, one in the
afternoon and one in the evening to make it easier for people to fit it
into their schedule. The workshops are suitable for all levels of
gardening experience and we're are asking that people register in
advance" Tukey will cover
weed management, selection of turf grasses, watering, building soil,
mulching and composting in each 90 minute workshop. Participants have
the choice of attending the afternoon workshop running from 4:00 - 5:30
pm or the evening workshop from 7:30 - 9pm. Registration can be
completed by emailing kimcran@wildsight.ca or phoning 250 427-2535 with the participants name, phone number and choice of workshop. In addition to the workshops, Tukey's film A Chemical Reaction will be shown three times over the evening and afternoon. The
film tells the heart-warming story of a community initiative in Hudson,
Quebec, that eventually resulted in Canada'sfirst cosmetic pesticide
by-law. As Tukey introduces the audience to the people who spearheaded
the community process we hear first hand of their incredible
perseverance. The by-law eventually withstood a challenge by the
chemical industry in the Supreme Court of Canada. The
film 70 minute will be shown at 2:30pm, 6:00pm and 7:30pm to allow
workshop participants to view the film either before or after attending
their workshop. Admission to the film is by donation. The trailer and
more information is available at www.chemicalreactionmovie.com Tukey
will be also presenting to area golf courses, the City, schools and
professional lawn care providers on transitioning to organic turf
management on April 20. The
Kimberley events in Tukey's Earth Week tour are sponsored by Pesticide
Free Kimberley, Wildsight, Canadian Cancer Society and the Kimberley
Garden Club. Wildsight gratefully acknowledges the financial support of
the City of Kimberley and the Columbia Basin Trust, a regional
corporation created to deliver social, economic and environmental
benefits to the residents of the Columbia Basin. More information is available at 250 427-2535 or kimcran@wildsight.ca
