The city of Irvine, CA has released a 91-page guide for organic maintenance of athletic fields in response to interest in replicating the program elsewhere.
The detailed report covers everything from turf management to soil analysis, as well as time spent maintaining baseball and softball infields. It also contains the organics first policy that the City Council adopted in 2016 and product information for alternatives to synthetic pesticides.
In the months since, cities across the region and beyond have contacted Irvine to ask about costs and methods for maintaining fields through manual and mechanical labor.
Additionally, the nonprofit Non Toxic Irvine plans to share the online guide in an effort to eliminate use of chemicals such as Roundup on fields across the U.S.
“We’re going to set up meetings with Little League and Pony nationally to meet with their staff and get it out there,” said Kim Konte, a founder of the group. “I’m so happy it’s finally live. People just want the information. This way it’s coming from a city that’s already implemented it for over a year now.”
The report can be viewed at: http://bit.ly/2rKmdJj.