Pesticide Free Failure | Activists want to Hire Kids and Convicts for Weed Control | Oakland California | Resorts to Herbicide Ranger Pro

Oakland continues its struggle with appropriate pesticide use

Published on Thursday, May 09, 2013
2013 Pesticide Notice – Photo by Trevor Brown

The city of Oakland has won numerous awards for its environmental policies.

However, when it comes to sustainable landscaping, being green requires money and in this economic climate, Oakland doesn’t have much to work with. This conundrum recently became apparent when a North Oakland resident complained about the use of herbicides in a local greenway.

“After three years of telling us that we are on our own along the 51st Street greenbelt, the city of Oakland intends to dump Monsanto Ranger Pro on the greenbelt between Broadway and Telegraph” read the email.

“The last time this was done in 2008 it was a scorched earth policy. They simply killed all plant live below six,” it continued.

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Pesticide Free Failure | Megan Dunn | Pesticide-free parks take labor — lots of it | HeraldNet.com – Local news

Pesticide-free parks take labor — lots of it

Cities and schools like the idea, but the extra work is a sticking point

By Noah

 

EVERETT — Megan Dunn watched her children pick bouquets of dandelions in Lowell Park, where she’s spent five years trying to stop city crews from spraying herbicides and other pest-control chemicals.

A pilot project to keep the park pesticide-free through hand-weeding went to seed last year. It died out after Dunn and her neighbors could no longer muster the volunteer momentum to keep it going.

“Last year, the city of Everett sprayed pesticides around every tree base so they wouldn’t have to trim there,” said Dunn, 37, who is drawing on the experience for a master’s program at UW Bothell. “What’s wrong with having longer grass around the base? Or throwing mulch down?”

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Organic Lawn Failure | Chip Osborne | $1.3 Million Dollar Tax Payer Funded Sod Job | DeHart Field New Jersey

DeHart Field Still Not Ready to Open, Says Township

Officials say field has no definite reopen date; expert [Chip Osborne] will evaluate its condition next week.

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Chip Osborne| Durango City organic consultant | Could do a “rescue” 1-Time treatment with conventional weed-killers

City might have organic parks by fall

By Jim Haug Herald staff writer

Durango made initial plans Tuesday to start a pilot organic-parks program by fall, which could cost the city about $140,000 in startup and equipment costs.