For Toxin-Free Landscaping

Saturday will be a PRFECT Earth Day in Springs, when the Perfect Earth Project, in collaboration with the Accabonac Protection Committee, presents a lineup of free events from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. designed to highlight the health and environmental benefits of a toxin-free approach to landscaping.

The talks and demonstrations will focus on steps both homeowners and landscape professionals can take to manage properties without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, as well as on their effect on the environment.

The day will begin with coffee and refreshments served at the Springs Firehouse, followed by a panel discussion from 10 to 11:30 a.m. featuring Edwina von Gal and Sean O’Neill from the Perfect Earth Project, a Springs organization that is working to spread the toxin-free message. Also participating will be Jorie Latham from the Accabonac Protection Committee, Chris Pickerell, the marine program director at Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County, and Charlie Marder, a Springs resident, proprietor of Marders nursery in Bridgehampton, and an expert in toxin-free landscaping.

Topics will include water quality concerns regarding Accabonac Harbor and other local bodies of water, and what homeowners and landscapers can do to stop their deterioration. After a brief overview, the panelists will field audience questions.

Homeowners and property managers have been invited to attend along with their landscapers for “couples’ therapy”; experts will be on hand to provide counsel on toxin-free techniques and to help set landscape goals.

Beginning at noon, on the lawn outside Ashawagh Hall, there will be games for children and local food. Information on ticks and the use of mulching lawnmowers will be provided at booths set up by various environmental organizations and local organic landscapers.

Paul Wagner, a lawn expert from the Perfect Earth Project, will show how to brew compost tea and highlight the benefits of soil health and how to manage pests organically.

An art show by earthhampton.com, celebrating Earth Day, will be on view inside the hall, and the Springs Seedlings group will sell plants. Job Potter and Friends will provide live music.