Wake-up Call: Lawn Care Products Harm our Children, Pets & Water!

Citing the massive turtle and fish kills recently reported in Long Island Sound caused by a lack of oxygen in the water as an example of the adverse impact of overusing pesticides and fertilizers, Bedford physician Diane Lewis, M.D., founder of the nonprofit organization “The Great Healthy Yard Project” and the author of the book by the same name, and Patricia “Patti” Wood, founder and executive director of Grassroots Environmental Education (“Grassroots”), urged residents to stop using pesticides and fertilizers and to change their lawn care habits at the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit’s “Healthy Lawns, Healthy Children” breakfast program on Tuesday, June 16.

Also on the panel were Westchester County Legislator Catherine Parker and Town of Mamaroneck Supervisor Nancy Seligson; both highlighted the link between what is put on lawns and what ends up in the Long Island Sound.

HOMEOWNERS UNKNOWINGLY CONTAMINATE OUR DRINKING WATER

“Nationally, the most widespread source of contamination in drinking water are the chemicals we use very casually on our yards and gardens,” said Dr. Lewis, citing results of EPA testing. A surprising fact is that homeowners use up to ten times more chemicals per acre than farmers do.

“Each year, Americans use 80 million pounds of pesticides, which don’t just stay on lawns and gardens, but wash with the rainwater into lakes, streams, rivers and are absorbed into our deep-groundwater aquifers, the source of our drinking water,” Dr. Lewis explained. She warned that water treatment does not remove all of these chemicals, and that new information shows that even very small quantities of these chemicals can have serious long-term health consequences.

Serious Health Risks Associated with Chemicals in Pesticides. Drawing from her medical background, Dr. Lewis described how almost immeasurable amounts of the chemicals found in pesticides can disrupt the way our bodies function. She noted that a position paper published in 2009 by the Endocrine Society – a group of physicians and researchers in the field of hormones – linked the “endocrine-disrupting” chemicals found in pesticides with diseases such as infertility, breast cancer, prostate cancer, ADHD, and autism. In fact, it has been shown with laboratory animals that the incidence of these conditions increases when hormone systems are disrupted.

As further evidence of the danger of pesticides, Dr. Lewis also cited the March 2015 World Health Organization report that linked an ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weed-killer – glyphosate – to the incidence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, calling it “probably carcinogenic.”

Children Particularly Vulnerable. Panelist Patti Wood explained that children are “uniquely vulnerable to environmental toxins because of their size, their developing bodies and undeveloped immune systems.” Further, “children don’t yet have the enzymes that adults have to break down the toxins, and pound for pound, they take in more toxins.” She also referenced a growing incidence of canine lymphoma, the dog equivalent of human non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Long Island Sound Impacted. Besides human and pet health, overuse of pesticides and fertilizers is having an adverse impact on the Long Island Sound, as pointed out by Town of Mamaroneck Supervisor Nancy Seligson. She explained that when the nitrogen from fertilizers reaches the Sound, it encourages the growth of algae and plants in the water; the bacteria that decompose these plants require oxygen, resulting in reduced levels of dissolved oxygen in the water. This, in turn, means that the Sound can support less marine life. Referencing the recently released Long Island Sound Report Card, produced by the Integration & Application Network at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Supervisor Seligson informed the audience that our portion of the Sound was rated D+. This low grade indicates the poor health of the local ecosystem. (She noted that this does not mean that the water is unsafe for recreational use; the poor score refers only to the health of the ecosystem.)

SOLUTIONS

Change in Attitude: Green Lawns Need Not Be Perfect. Arguing that “the solution is so simple,” Dr. Lewis suggested that people need to change their aesthetic – not aspire to “perfect” green lawns – and work with their friends and neighbors to educate and change mindsets.

Patti Wood’s Grassroots organization, co-creator of the award-winning Grassroots Healthy Lawn Program that has fueled the growth of the organic lawn care industry, educates landscapers and homeowners to achieve desired results without pesticides. Wood maintains that people can have beautiful green lawns that are weed-free without using any high-nitrogen fertilizers or pesticides.

Education & Further Legislation Needed. Besides educating homeowners and the lawn care industry, Grassroots takes on legislative initiatives as well. It was instrumental in getting New York State’s Child Safe Playing Fields Act enacted, making NYS the only state to have banned the use of pesticides on turf in K-12 public, private and parochial schools, as well are pre-K and daycare programs. (Note that even before the passage of this act, the Mamaroneck Schools did not use pesticides on its turf.)

Grassroots is currently working with Nassau and Suffolk County governments to reduce the nitrogen level in commercial fertilizers used by homeowners and landscaping companies, to a nitrogen number of 11% or below by weight; in comparison, typical fertilizers by Scotts Company contain upwards of 33% nitrogen. Contrary to popular belief, Wood explained that nitrogen is really not that healthy for lawns and gardens; it encourages rapid top growth, but very little root growth, which plants need to thrive.

What Can We Do: Tips for Healthy Lawn Care. According to Wood, many people sign contracts with landscapers without fully understanding the lawn care program that they are signing up for. She suggests trying to find a landscaper who has experience in organic turf care; a list of landscapers who have taken training from Grassroots is available on its website. She also recommends testing the soil before selecting a lawn care program.

Wood provided a handful of simple do’s and do not do’s for healthier lawn care, including:

Do Not Do’s:

• Do NOT use synthetic pesticides, including the common weed killer Roundup.
• Do NOT use chemical fertilizers, especially high-nitrogen, water-soluble fertilizers; these quickly dissolve with the first rain and go down the drains into our water sources.

Do’s:

• Apply a half-inch layer of compost (or kelp or seaweed) at the start of the spring season.
• Leave grass clippings on the lawn; as they break down, they provide nitrogen naturally. (Only remove clippings from first mowing.)
• Mow cut at 2 ½ or 3”; longer grass aids in the photosynthesis process, keeping grass green.
• Use organic fertilizers, which are insoluble. These do not run off property when it rains, but they stay in the soil and make themselves available as the plants need them.
• Seed in the fall, although seeding early in the spring is all right, too.
• Over-seed in late August or September; always want new grass – if turf is dense, less likely to have a weed problem.
• Water early in the morning. (Don’t water between 10 am – 4 pm as it evaporates during those hours; if lawns are watered at night, the grass stays wet, leading to a higher probability of fungal turf grass diseases.)
• Keep a mixture of compost and grass seed in the garage to address bare spots. The compost keeps the grass seed moist, and prevents birds from easily eating the seed.

LOCAL INITIATIVES

Westchester County’s Great Healthy Yard Project. With Westchester County second in the state in the use of pesticides and fertilizers, Westchester County Legislator Catherine Parker emphasized the importance of residents understanding “the connection between what we put on our yards and what ends up getting into our water sources.” She discussed the resolution she introduced this spring, which was passed unanimously, to begin an educational initiative to improve our water quality – “The Great Healthy Yard Project.” All Westchester residents are encouraged to take “The Pledge” to “help protect the quality of our local drinking water by managing my lawn and garden without synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers” and to dispose of pharmaceuticals responsibly. Westchester County Legislator Parker volunteered to go door to door with residents to discuss this initiative with friends and neighbors.

Model Neighborhoods. Town of Mamaroneck Supervisor Seligson urged full support of the county’s “Great Healthy Yard Project.” She is currently working with two neighborhood associations to see if they can create a healthy yard movement and become model neighborhoods. As an example of what is possible, in Bedford, over 4,400 acres (approaching 20%) have already been pledged to be pesticide-free as part of their “Great Healthy Yard Project.” Bedford 2020’s goal is to have at least 60% of Bedford’s land managed without synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers by 2020.

For more information:

• The Great Healthy Yard Project: http://tghyp.com/
• Grassroots Environmental Education: http://grassrootsinfo.org/

This breakfast forum was hosted by The Larchmont-Mamaroneck Local Summit, an informal community council that seeks to make life better for all in the tri-municipal area. Its monthly public meetings are held at the Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck at 7:45 a.m. usually on the third Tuesday of the month. The first breakfast meeting of the 2015-16 season will take place on Tuesday, September 22. For more information on The Local Summit: http://www.localsummitlm.org/.