The University of Guelph is using Provincial Money to teach rural communities how to deal with weeds but cannot teach its own community in Guelph how to deal with weeds.
Safe school grounds and high-quality municipal sports fields maintained without the use of traditional pesticides
Who are they fooling? Are they implying that Health Canada Approved Pesticides are not safe?
Carleton University in Ottawa Ontario (This is a city not rural), they applied to an Exemption from the Ontario Pesticide Ban and recieved it from Environment Minister John Wilkinson. The reason was a Frisbee Tournament
Why didn't Dr. Eric Lyons and fellow University of Guelph Turfgrass Experts intervene and teach the University of Carleton how to manage High-Quaility Sports Fields without the use of Traditional Pesticides?
McGuinty Ontario Pesticide Ban Grant Money Grab.
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Turfgrass Education Initiative to Help Rural Communities
July 29, 2011 – News Release
Safe school grounds and high-quality municipal sports fields maintained without the use of traditional pesticides are the focus of a new University of Guelph-based initiative.
The Turfgrass Outreach Project (TOP) offers support to rural groundkeepers across southern Ontario, providing workshops, training programs and an online knowledge centre.
The project is being run by scientists and educators from the Guelph Turfgrass Institute and is supported by the Knowledge Translation and Transfer program, a new initiative under the University's partnership agreement with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA). It sets aside funds for projects that improve the impact of research projects by transforming research knowledge into use for different research audiences across the agriculture, food and rural sectors.
Without cosmetic pesticides ─ which have not been permitted for use since 2009 ─ rural groundskeepers have had to make major changes to manage school and municipal sports fields. But so far, public outreach has focused on the impacts on residential lawns and urban sports fields. This is an outstanding need that this project is looking to address, said Eric Lyons, a professor of plant agriculture and TOP project manager.
“Urban areas have often had municipal restrictions in place for a while, but in many cases, rural communities have had to adapt very quickly to managing turf without cosmetic pesticides,” Lyons said. “The education and outreach to deal with that just isn’t in place in rural communities like it has been in urban centres.”
In response, TOP is pulling expertise from the Guelph Turfgrass Institute, U of G’s Ontario Agricultural College and School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, and OMAFRA to create accessible educational opportunities for rural groundskeepers. It’s also partnered with the Sports Turf Association.
“We welcome the chance to learn more about the specific challenges faced by rural schools and municipalities,” said Nicole Markwick, TOP’s project co-ordinator. “For example, the safety of sports fields is important because they are used year-round for various sports and events that impact rural communities economically, socially and environmentally.”
TOP also aims to foster stronger networks for continuing education on sustainable resource management for rural turfgrass managers. It has also partnered with community organizations.
More information about the Turfgrass Outreach Project is available online.
Contact:
Nicole Markwick
519-824-4120 , Ext. 52251
turfgrassoutreach@uoguelph.ca
For media questions, contact Communications and%2
via Turfgrass Education Initiative to Help Rural Communities | University of Guelph.