Need for Weeds

“We’re hoping to start a movement in Boulder to make herbicide-free lawns the norm rather than the exception,” says Randy Weiner, one of the organizers for today’s Boulder Dandelion Festival. “And the way to do that is to make it easy and show people that some of these weeds that we’ve shuddered about in the past are actually useful plants…. For the planet to survive, there needs to be a change in consciousness, but it doesn’t have to be heavy; it can be fun.”

More About

• Randy Weiner
• Deb Sanders

The festival runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the band shell on Broadway Street and Canyon Boulevard in Boulder and features live music, a cook-off of food with dandelion as an ingredient, and tons of seminars and information on everything from sustainable lawn care and natural weed control to medicine-making with local plants and edible-landscape ideas.

“We wanted to work on awareness and look at the value of dandelions and, if you really want to get rid of them, mechanical, safe means to do that without destroying the soil and each other,” says another organizer, Deb Sanders. “We wanted a positive approach to looking at our environment and appreciating it instead of trying to destroy it.”

The festival is free to attend; visit http://pesticideboulder.org for information.
Sat., April 24, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., 2010