Earth Friendly Party Slated At Cindy Sherman's House In East Hampton

The Perfect Earth Project’s family picnic and concert at 4 p.m. on Saturday, August 30, will try to help dispel the myth that chemicals are essential to a “perfect” lawn.

To be held at Cindy Sherman’s toxin-free property on Accabonac Harbor in Springs, the benefit will feature live performances by The Persuasions, G.E. Smith, Teddy Thompson, and special guest Roger Waters—not to mention a picnic of organic food, children’s activities and a wild animal petting zoo provided by the Quogue Wildlife Refuge.

Edwina von Gal, who is a landscape designer and Ms. Sherman’s neighbor, leads the Perfect Earth Project as an outgrowth of the Azuero Earth Project, which she helped to establish in Panama as an antidote to deforestation in that country. Her mission—and she’s been succeeding so far, she said—is to create a demand for toxin-free lawns, especially among parents and pet owners, in much the same way that eating organic food has become the norm for many consumers.

“After working in Panama, I felt a little more guilty working chemical-free there, so I decided to call all my clients,” she explained recently.

Ms. von Gal, whose clients include the likes of Calvin Klein, Faith Popcorn and Guild Hall, managed to persuade them all to have their lawns maintained without chemicals, and now she hopes to expand that trend, which relies more on individualized care and less on a one-size-fits-all series of chemical treatments, many of which create problems that lead to more chemicals, she said.

“This is a really easy thing to do, and super interesting,” Ms. von Gal said, at her office in Springs, of converting to chemical-free landscaping, “with benefits for your own health and the environment.”

Expected guests at Saturday’s event include Laurie Anderson, Nan Bush and Bruce Weber, Kim Cattrall, Blythe Danner, Calvin Klein, Jenni Muldaur, Toni Ross, Melissa Schiff Soros, Rufus Wainwright, and Alexander Vreeland. Tickets start at $100 for children and $250 for “friends” between 21 and 35, with supporter tickets priced at $1,000. Further information can be found at azueroearthproject.org.