Community Corner
Loving a Lush, Verdant Lawn Needn't Be a Sin
Project Green Lawn offers a free fall organic lawn care workshop on how to care for your grass without harmful chemicals.
Fall is an excellent time to start an organic lawn care program.
Join local organic lawn professional Scott Reil on Sept. 12 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Hubbard Room at Russell Library in Middletown to learn how to make the transition to a safe and beautiful chemical-free lawn.
Lawns maintained with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides pose a serious health threat to people, pets and the environment. Lawn-care chemicals applied by homeowners or lawn-care companies contain potent toxins that kill weeds and pests, but scientific evidence show that these chemicals also affect other living beings.
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When we apply these chemicals and walk on our grass, we also carry these dangers inside our homes where they linger and take longer to break down.
Exposure to certain lawn-care pesticides has been associated with increased risk of asthma and several types of childhood and adult cancers, birth defects, reproductive problems, nervous and immune system disorders, and liver and kidney damage.
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Lawn chemicals also make their way into the environment through rain runoff and are passed along through the food chain, contaminating fish and wildlife. Many Canadian towns have banned the use of pesticides on private lawns due to health and environmental concerns.
You can have a healthy, green, beautiful without using harmful chemicals. Come and learn how. Scott will review the basics and then answer questions.
Project Green Lawn is a public awareness campaign to encourage residents and businesses to maintain healthy lawns free of chemicals. It is a project of the Middletown Public Works Department, Middletown Resource Recycling Advisory Commission and Conservation Commission, with the support and assistance from the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District and The Jonah Center.
Copies of The Organic Lawn Care Manual by Paul Tukey will be available through the Connecticut River Coastal Conservation District at the workshop on Sept. 12.
For information, contact the City Recycling Coordinator at (860) 344-3526 or kim.orourke@cityofmiddletown.com.
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