(Beyond Pesticides, Aug 29, 2022) Does your community have a pesticide-free park managed with organic practices? Would you like it done? If you have an organic parks policy, do you have up-to-date information on current practices? It’s time to take action to assert or defend our authority to shift land management in our community to organic practices—just as the pesticide industry is lobbying to take that right away from us. To become one Parks Advocate. And, take the following actions.
If your community is one by one growing number across the country that has taken action to protect its citizens and environment by adopting organic policies and practices in its public spaces, take this opportunity to ask for an update on how organic land management is going or ask the community to start transition to organic land management.
At the same time, be aware that the pesticide industry is asking removes the ability of local communities to limit toxic pesticides. Ask the Mayor/County Commissioner/City Manager to contact your US Representative and Senators on your behalf and tell them to oppose HR 7266 and support Protecting America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA), which contains a provision asserting local authority to restrict pesticides.
Please share it with us photos of your parks. Tell us why your pesticide-free parks are important to you.
If your community has not yet taken action to protect its residents and environment by adopting organic policies and practices in its public spaces.
Letter to the mayor/county commissioner/city manager:
This letter contains a two-part request – first to address organic management in our community and, second, to contact our elected representatives in Congress to protect our community’s right to limit toxic pesticides.
I want to ensure that all land (parks, playgrounds, playgrounds, etc.) in our area is managed with organic practices that eliminate pesticides and toxic fossil fuel-based fertilizers. Where these practices exist, I would appreciate a report to the community. Where organic practices are not used, I urge that a transition plan be put in place – as part of a community effort to protect health and biodiversity and combat the climate crisis. Now is the time for us all to come together to do our part to reduce petroleum-based pesticides and fertilizers and sequester atmospheric carbon in the soil through effective organic practices.
I am also asking you, on behalf of our community, to contact our US Representative and Senators to tell them to oppose HR 7266 and support Protecting America’s Children from Toxic Pesticides Act (PACTPA), which contains a provision asserting local authority to restrict pesticides. We need your voice to be heard on behalf of all residents of our community to protect our health and biodiversity and fight the climate crisis. Moving away from fossil fuel-based pesticides and fertilizers through limiting toxic pesticides and adopting organic practices is critically important to our health now and sustainability in the future.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
