"Organic Lawn Workshop"- Beautiful lawns and gardens, without chemicals.

Ever wonder how lawn chemicals became so widely used?  Do they affect the health of people and pets? Is it even possible to have a great lawn without chemicals, and how does the average person go about it?  If you’ve asked yourselves these questions, come to Sierra Club’s second annual Organic Lawn Workshop to find the answers!  This educational program will take place on Monday May 13 from 7-8:30 pm, at Mayfair Church, 1736 Lyon St NE in Grand Rapids.  This year’s speaker will be organic lawn care expert Steve Veldheer, founder and owner of Good Sweet Earth in Zeeland Township, Michigan.  Steve and his wife Corey began Good Sweet Earth out of a desire to stop putting chemicals into their family’s garden and lawn, and they are dedicated to helping homeowners and gardeners build healthy soil in their yards.

“Our family got into organic yard and garden care because we found ourselves making an effort to eat organic food, but still dumping chemicals on our garden and lawn,” said Steve.  “It didn’t make sense to have organic food on our table, but toxic chemicals on the yard where our kids and pets spent their days.”

“Turfgrass covers more acreage in our country than any other crop,” Steve continues. “If we’re concerned with the health of our planet’s soil, our watersheds, and the effects of climate change, we can’t just point our finger at corporate farms and manufacturers and hope they change.  Healing our planet starts with us, and it starts in our own yards. We like to think we’re helping to heal our planet, one West Michigan yard at a time.”

Steve is a graduate of the University of Michigan, and a graduate of the University of Georgia’s Turfgrass Management Program.  Since founding Good Sweet Earth in 2012, he’s spent the spring, summer and autumn seasons “playing” in the dirt, feeding homeowners’ lawns naturally and organically, while spending the winter season deep in academic soil science and turfgrass research.  He is certified in Landcare Management through the National Association of Landcare Professionals.  He’s also a member of the Soil Science Society of America, American Society of Agronomy, and the Crop Science Society of America.   Good Sweet Earth offers personalized full-service soil care for yards and gardens, as well as a variety of hand-crafted soil composts and fertilizers for sale.

This workshop is produced by Growing Green, a group of local activists connected to Sierra Club who are interested in promoting sustainable organic landscape practices that are healthy for the people, pets, wildlife, and pollinators in the Grand Rapids area. To find out more about Growing Green, visit our website.   To RSVP for this special event by May 6, contact us at [email protected].