On Saturday, April 13, Stonyfield will host a Field Day to kick off this collaboration

WHO:

Speakers will include:

• Mayor Jackie Biskupski
• Gary Hirshberg, CEO, Stonyfield Organic
• Kristin Riker, Salt Lake City Parks and Public Lands Director

WHEN:

Saturday, April 13, 2019

11:00am – 2:00pm – Field Day activities for kids

Formal remarks begin at 1 p.m.

WHERE:

Regional Athletic Complex

2280 Rose Park Ln, Salt Lake City, UT 84116

WHAT:

On April 13, Stonyfield Yogurt will host a “Field Day” of fun-filled family activities for the general public to enjoy, which celebrates a new program and collaboration with the City. Bouncy houses, games, music, free organic yogurt and other activities will be located between playing fields at the Regional Athletic Complex and are open to all. Education about organic field maintenance will also take place at a fun “Edutainment Cart” featuring interactive and educational activities for kids and parents. 

At 1 pm Mayor Jackie Biskupski will receive a donation of $5,000 from Stonyfield Organic yogurt to support the Pesticide Free SLC program. It will be used to convert two fields at the Salt Lake Regional Athletic Complex (RAC) to organic land care maintenance methods. The company will also pledge an additional $40,000 to cover technical services to implement and identify best management practices that could be scaled up at the RAC, with the goal of making it the first sports complex in the nation with professional-grade fields being maintained through organic maintenance practices.

In addition to yogurt sampling and a variety of fun-filled family activities, representatives from Stonyfield, including co-founder and Chief Organic Optimist, Gary Hirshberg; the Salt Lake City Sustainability Department; Salt Lake City Parks & Public Lands Division; and members of the Utah Physicians for a Healthy Environment group will be on hand to celebrate the program and help educate local residents.

The Sustainability Department and Parks and Public Lands Division have partnered on the Pesticide Free SLC program since 2016. The initiative is aimed at reducing overall chemical use in the Salt Lake City community and includes both a municipal and public focus. Building off the best management practices already employed by the Parks Division for the maintenance of all municipal parks and fields, the City has been piloting organic land care methods at both Laird and Madsen parks since 2017.

The support of Stonyfield will give Salt Lake City its largest organically-maintained lawn areas to date, with the focus on high-visibility and heavy-use spaces.

“We want to know what the best practices are for how to achieve high quality turf using organic methods on these professional-grade fields,” said Kristin Riker, Director of the Parks and Public Lands Division. “We’re continuing to test these methods, with the goal of expanding to more areas of the RAC and our other parks.”

“Salt Lake City is delighted and grateful for the generous support from Stonyfield for this organic land care program. We are always looking to implement the most innovative and healthy practices to achieve a better quality of life for our community members,” said Mayor Biskupski.

The Pesticide Free SLC program also encourages residents and business to explore organic land care resources online and take the “Pesticide Free SLC” pledge at www.slcgreen.com/pesticidefree to receive a free yard sign. In the last year, over 300 yard signs have been distributed to Salt Lake City residents. 

Stonyfield Organic, which has been focused on organic farms and ingredient-sourcing for 36 years, is expanding its focus to helping transition public parks and playing fields across the country to organic land management practices through its #PlayFree initiative. The collaboration with Salt Lake City includes consulting expertise from land care expert Osborne Organics and the non-profit Beyond Pesticides.

Stonyfield has committed to assisting with organic maintenance of the RAC pilot, as well as the transition of two other fields at Sunnyside and Westpointe parks.

“At Stonyfield Organic we’ve cared about the organic fields where our cows graze and the fields where our fruits and veggies grow for over 35 years,” said co-founder and Chief Organic Optimist, Gary Hirshberg. “Today we extend that commitment to new fields, the playing fields. Over 26 million kids play sports on fields* and 65% of fields are sprayed with harmful pesticides – it’s time for a change, and we are honored to team up with Salt Lake City to bring this mission to life.”

Event Day Press Instructions:

Reporters and photographers are invited to attend and to speak with representatives from Salt Lake City and Stonyfield. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Salt Lake City: https://www.slc.gov/sustainability/pesticidefree/

About StonyFIELDS #PlayFree Initiative:https://www.stonyfield.com/playfree

About Stonyfield Organic: https://www.stonyfield.com/