Featuring Chip Osborne, National Expert on Sustainable Lawn Care

CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Looking for a way to grow your business in the expanding field of natural lawn care? Interested in transitioning your parks and municipal properties away from chemical/conventional lawn care? Safer Pest Control Project, with its partners on its Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grant, will host a one-day workshop on Natural Lawn Care on March 23, 2011 at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, IL. Registration information and full agenda are available at ilca.net.

Growing public demand for safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly lawns has created a prime opportunity for turf pros and looking to get into this field and to address customers' concerns. Natural lawn care emphasizes building healthy soil, encouraging soil biology, selecting the right grass, watering properly and managing pests naturally. The topics the workshop will cover include: Sustainability and Natural Lawns, Soil and Healthy Landscapes, Transitioning to Natural Lawn Care, Budgets and Saving Money, and Public Messaging.  

The featured speaker is Chip Osborne, President of Osborne Organics, with over 30 years of experience in the turf and horticulture industry, as well as experience managing athletic and municipal turf fields naturally. Additional experts include: Mike Nowak of "The Mike Nowak Show" on WCPT820 AM, Chicago; Richard Hentschel, Extension Specialist Green Industry Programming with the University of Illinois; and Laura Killian, Water Quality Educator with the Lake Champlain Sea Grant, University of Vermont.

Workshop participants will be able to choose from two specialized tracks: Implementing Natural Lawn Care on Your Property or Running a Natural Lawn Care Business. The cost of the workshop is $150, with lunch included. Group discounts are available. Funding is provided by a grant from the U.S. EPA's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. Partners include the Illinois Landscape Contractors Association and the Midwest Ecological Landscaping Association.

For a complete agenda, presenter biographies and registration materials please go to ilca.net. Photos available.

Safer Pest Control Project (spcpweb.org) is a nonprofit dedicated to protecting children and their families from the health risks and environmental impacts of pesticides through promoting safe, effective alternatives. At the center of our efforts is Integrated Pest Management (IPM), a proven method of pest control that emphasizes simple, inexpensive prevention practices that cause the least harm to people and the environment.  

SOURCE Safer Pest Control Project

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http://www.spcpweb.org