Daily News Archive
From March 28, 2006                                                                                                        

Eleven-Year Old Boy Stops Round-up Spraying in his California Park
(Beyond Pesticides, March 28, 2006) Add one more park to the growing list of pesticide-free parks being established in this country. Upon seeing posted signs in his local park of plans to spray Roundup, an eleven-year old boy convinced local authorities to halt the spraying. After researching the chemical and finding it could affect humans and wash off into local streams, the boy wrote to local newspaper editors to voice his concerns. His mother contacted the local Marin Beyond Pesticides and their Pesticide-Free Zone Campaign for assistance.

According to the Marin Independent Journal, the planned spraying was part of a $500,000 project to rid weeds in preparation for a new field and trails. “He deserves a lot of credit," said John Elam, general manager of the Tamalpais Community Services District. "He called us on it and we could not defend the use of Roundup." The district will now use a rototiller to rip out the weeds, Elam said.

The work of this boy and the Marin Pesticide-Free Zone Campaign is part of a growing nationwide grassroots effort to stop the aesthetic use of pesticides and promote organic land care techniques. The Marin County group reports that Fairfax, Mill Valley, and Corte Madera, California all have pesticide-free parks. Pesticide-Free Parks are being announced from Plainville, Connecticut to Lawrence, Kansas. For a growing list across the country and a list of the growing number of town-wide organic and integrated pest management policies. see Pesticide-Free Parks.

TAKE ACTION: Contact your local town land manager to discuss how your town-owned lands are being managed. Refer to the pesticide-free zones and policies across the country as models to follow.