|
|
Seattle Eliminates Pesticide Use in Fourteen Parks
by Mary Ann Deuth, Dandelions Unlimited Volunteer
In 2000, the overall pesticide use by the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department was reduced by 46%. In 2001, the employee-driven environmental initiatives were so successful that in June, 2001, The National Audubon Society presented the city of Seattle a Habitat Hero Award for reducing the use of pesticides and promoting bird-friendly landscapes.
The Seattle Parks and Recreation Department adopted a Pesticide Free program in 2001 using alternative methods: a propane powered iron to sear weeds, plastic weed-resistant fabric buried under mulch in borders around shrubs and trees, hard borders around plant beds, tree rings, concrete pads under picnic tables, good mulch layers in beds, increased plant density with native plants, and biological controls for damaging insects. Fourteen parks were chosen to be Pesticide Free and were marked with signs featuring a dragonfly. The six parks originally chosen represented different neighborhoods and a range of maintenance challenges; the other eight parks were not considered feature parks. These parks will serve as laboratories demonstrating environmentally-friendly practices and testing new technologies. The program will help the city better understand how to sustain public land long term without pesticides. The goal of the program is to eliminate the use of the most potentially harmful pesticides and herbicides.
Seattle has become a model for pesticide free parks. In 2004, there was a meeting with Portland representatives to launch a program in that city using Seattle's advice. Pollyana Lind of the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides said, "The city of Seattle's pesticide-free parks and landscape programs are an excellent example of what innovative cities are doing to protect human health, water quality and wildlife."
By 2007, Seattle had twenty-two parks and fifty acres pesticide free. The city manages 110,000 acres of which 12,000 are highly developed and managed grounds. Despite the challenges of the variety of land--roadside and median strips, specialty gardens, golf courses, electrical transmission right-of-ways, etc.--the city is using a minimum amount of pesticides. It is concerned with the growing evidence of damage to the health of humans, wildlife, the marine environment, and salmon from pesticide and fertilizer use and run-off.
Sources
Erika Schreder, Washington Toxics Coalition
Pesticide Reduction, Office of Sustainability and Environment, Seattle, WA
| |
