Healthy lawns without pesticides forum is April 29

First Lady Michelle Obama struck an important chord when she broke ground in 2009 on a White House organic garden. Surrounded by children, she sent a strong health and environmental message to the nation: pesticides are poisons, and children, especially, should not be unnecessarily exposed to them. Further, she demonstrated that there are safe and effective alternatives to using toxic lawn and garden chemicals. Push-back from the chemical industry only emphasized the importance of her action.

Indeed, we no longer need to rely on toxic herbicides to have healthy and beautiful gardens, lawns, and landscapes. That is the theme of the April 29, 2011 forum "Fabulous Lawns and Landscapes Without Chemicals: Transitioning To Cost-Effective, Organic Landscape Management" from 8 a.m. to noon. Beyond Pesticides Ohio is cosponsoring this event with and at the Cleveland Botanical Garden. (See inset for registration information.)

The forum speakers begin with Chip Osborne, CEO of Osborne Organics and nationally known horticulturist from Marblehead, MA, who will give a broad overview as well as very specific tools on how to construct and implement natural lawn and landscape practices including organic weed and pest control. Alec McClennan, president of Good Nature Organic Lawn Care, will provide specific questions to ask to determine if the materials or company you use are genuinely organic. He will also demonstrate that going organic can actually save you money. Andrew Pratt, grounds manager at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, will discuss how the use of Integrated Pest Management at the Garden maintains healthy plants, reduces costs and harmful runoff. Nationally known entomologist Cynthia Druckenbrod, director of horticulture at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, will discuss the most common insects you'll encounter in our area, and how to tell the good from the bad. And Barry Zucker, executive director of Beyond Pesticides Ohio, will discuss why reducing our dependence on lawn chemicals benefits the health of people, pets, and the ecosystem. Forum attendees will learn how to make the transition to cost-effective, organic turf practices.

Research continues to demonstrate that pesticides are a real public threat: A study published in the Journal of the American Cancer Institute finds home and garden pesticide use can increase the risk of childhood leukemia by almost 7 times; of 30 commonly used lawn pesticides, 19 have studies pointing towards carcinogens, 13 are linked with birth defects, and 15 with neurotoxicity; dogs exposed to lawn chemicals may increase their risk of bladder cancer; and runoff from lawn chemicals contaminates the water supplies.

For years Greater Cleveland has been in the vanguard of lawn chemical reform: In 1988, Ohio became the first state to require posting of "Stay Off the Grass" warning signs after lawns had been chemically treated (at the time this was a revolutionary idea); in 1995 Cleveland Heights became the first city in the nation to ban toxic lawn chemicals on public and school properties; in 2010, Middleburgh Heights eliminated lawn chemicals from parks and public playing fields and adopted natural turf practices.

Organic yard and lansdcape care is a growing national movement. Last year, both Connecticut and New York state banned lawn chemicals from all public school playing fields, and 38 communities in New Jersey, and more in Illinois, Massachusetts, Maine, and California created pesticide-free zones to protect the health of people, pets, and the environment. The need for organic lawn care is not limited to affluent communities; indeed, a huge amount of urban landscape—parks, ball fields, housing developments, hospitals, colleges, museums, and private property—could benefit from natural lawn care.

Come to the April 29 forum and encourage your city and school officials to attend. Together we can learn how to have beautiful and healthy landscapes and public spaces through truly green approaches.