Action and Advocacy

Groundswell and the Dandelion Festival

Looking Back: CFUW-Stratford Archives

It all started with a conversation.. November 28, Ladies’ Parlour: Knox Church

Close-Up! CFUW-Stratford Executive

Research, Write, Edit, Repeat.. Resolution committee members Sheila Clarke, Nora Walden and Stacey Wilson

Non-essential (Cosmetic) Pesticides: Registration and Education August 2002  Resolved, that the Canadian Federation of University Women urge the government of Canada to address the following issues of concern re: non- essential (cosmetic) pesticides, particularly parkland, lawn and garden pesticides:

1. Implement independent laboratory re- evaluation of all pesticides currently on the market, applying the principles of scientific objectivity now recognized by leading medical journals. 2. Require pesticide registration evaluation criteria to include extended environmental processes: persistence and spread, bioconcentration, biomagnification and interaction.

3. Integrate ecosystem impact into approval of pesticides, refusing registration to those pesticides harmful to non-target organisms which function as integral components of our ecosystems and which sustain healthy ecosystems through biodiversity. 4. Encourage methods of lawn care that identify ecosystem health and biodiversity as specific goals, and develop public education initiatives in ecosystem theory. 5. Utilize the precautionary principle in pesticide registration, refusing registration to products until all data compilation is complete, including data on inert substances, and all areas of potential harm assessed.

CFUW-National AGM 2002: Richmond B.C.

Presentation to the Standing Committee on Social Affairs Science and Technology: November 2002

Close-Up: Stacey Wilson, Sheila Clarke and Nora Walden strike a serious pose.

From Policy to Action:

Green Garden Remedies Handbook

Arguments against a ban on Pesticides:  Stratford is a tourist town. We need beautiful, weed-free gardens for the tourists.  These chemicals are so safe, you could drink them!  Salt can also kill you if you have too much!  Someone will get hurt tripping on a dandelion or a thistle!  People in the pesticide industry will lose their jobs.  Most of my customers are Doctors! (Quote from gentleman in lawn care industry)

Public Meetings

Pesticide Free Education Committee

Sheila’s House!

Pesticide Free, Naturally

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world. - John Muir

Support from Many Sources-Pesticide Free, Naturally and the Dandelion Festival  Groundswell : Eric Coates, Bonnie Henderson, Stacey Wilson, Deb Northmore, Val Muller, Sergio and Anne Marie Lappano, Jane Eligh-Feryn, Liz Mountain, Margaret Reid, Derek Togerson  The Gentle Rain  Anything Grows  Harry Jongerdon –Head Gardener, Stratford Festival  City Waste Reduction Dept. Kris Longston, City of Stratford  Breadworks Bakery  Pizzos  Perth County Greenworks  Canadian Auto Workers- Bonnie Henderson  CFUW-Stratford  Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment-Dr. Sergio Lappano  P’Lovers  Heidi Holdsworth Designs  Lee Valley London  Canada Trust  Civic Beautification and Environmental Awareness  Nature Roots- Meadow Rue

Pesticide-Free Alternatives Accepting Weeding

Change at All levels of Government  The City of Stratford By-law prohibiting the use of cosmetic pesticides came into effect March 1, 2009  Ontario Law- April 22, 2009  NATIONAL-BILL C-8: AN ACT TO PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH AND SAFETY AND THE ENVIRONMENT BY REGULATING PRODUCTS USED FOR THE CONTROL OF PESTS December 2002  Pest Control Products Act December 2002

Victor Hugo  “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”

A Happy Ending, but...