Protect Our Child Athletes

Given the unique vulnerability of children to the effects of environmental toxins on their health, we believe there is no place more important for turf to be managed organically than on the playing fields of America where thousands of children spend hours of their childhood playing on the grass.

The phenomenal growth of youth sports associations promotes some great programs nationwide in soccer, lacrosse, field hockey, baseball, and football for children as young as 5 years old! And on the sidelines, families often include babies and pets, who also love to crawl, run and play on the grass.

No Place for Toxic Pesticides

There is no place for toxic chemical pesticides in this picture- and yet these playing fields are a big piece of the market for the chemical lawn care industry. They work hard at promoting the myth that only a chemical program can produce good athletic turf. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Town Takes Action

In Marblehead, our Board of Health has adopted an Organic Pest Management Policy (pdf) for all town-owned land, including our athletic fields. Our Recreation, Parks and Forestry Department is now beginning its second year of implementing an organic turf management plan into its maintenance of those fields. In the near future we will have a separate page on this site documenting the history of marblehead's Organic Fields... in the meantime, Contact Us for more information.

National Examples

There are many other successful organic athletic turf programs in place around the country. The following links can get you started- and provide you with the information you need to ensure the fields in your own community are safe and healthy places for children to play ball! And while you are researching, be sure to read our Most Common Myths About Athletic Turf Management

North Country Organics, Putney, VT.

Owner/author and recognized leading expert on soil biology and turf management, Paul Sachs.
By phone: (802) 222-4277 between 8:30AM-4:30PM EST Monday-Friday.
www.norganics.com E-mail: ncoinfo@norganics.com

The Sunfire Institute/SafeTurf, outside of Philadelphia, PA.

Over 20 years experience of organic turf management, including athletic fields. For more details, registration forms, directions and full course syllabus contact:

Robert Burton or Brian Jones.
Sunfire Institute, PO BOX 994, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
By phone: (610)832-1403 By fax: (610) 832-1080
Website: www.sunfireinstitute.com
E-mail: sfiiomnow@aol.com