Freedom Lawn Committee
Sign Up for DEP’s Pesticide Registry by December 31 to Be Protected From Neighbors’ Spraying Next Spring
Press Release
To download Pesticide Registry form, click here.
Even though people are not thinking about protecting themselves from lawn-care pesticide exposures at this time of year—yet—if they don’t sign onto Connecticut’s Pesticide Registry by the end of this month they won’t be able to get onto the registry until next year at this time.
Citizens can protect themselves, their families and their pets from toxic pesticide exposures from their neighbors’ lawn and tree-care pesticide applications by being notified 24 hours in advance of their neighbors spraying, thereby allowing time to close windows and bring children and pets inside. You cannot get this notification unless you are signed onto the state registry.
The Pesticide Registry requires that pesticide applicators give residents who have signed the registry 24-hour advance notice of their intent to spray an abutting property, which includes neighbors in the front, in the rear, and adjoining properties on either side.
Registration must be completed by December 31 and must be sent in writing to the CT Department of Environmental Protection, Pesticide Division, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106.
Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI), a non-profit organization made up of doctors and public health professionals, is encouraging Connecticut citizens to take advantage of this existing state law, says Nancy Alderman, president of EHHI.
“Pesticides are intentionally toxic substances,” says John Wargo, Ph.D.,professor of risk analysis and environmental policy at Yale University’s School of Forestry. “Some chemicals commonly used on lawns and gardens have been associated with neurotoxicity, adverse reproductive effects, and cancer in laboratory animals.”
State residents can download the registry form by visiting the State of Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s website at: http://www.dep.state.ct.us/wst/pesticides/registry_prenotification.htm; call the DEP Pesticide Division at (860) 424-3324. It really works and I advise it - it is a huge help to be
notified before your neighbors spray. It gives you the chance to
close windows and bring in pets.
Best, Nancy
Freedom Lawns mentioned in Suburban Safari by Hannah Holmes:
 "The Freedom Lawn was invented, so to speak, by three scholars at Yale's School of Forestry and Envrironmental Studies, who argue the merits of weeds in Redesigning the American Lawn. Their description fits my patchwork lawn perfectly. who knew I was a trendsetter in landscape design? Poking around the Internet, I find that the Freedom Lawn is becoming more and more common. Lawn owners who lack the necessary weeds to start a Freedom Lawn are ordering "eco-turf" mixes of stuff like clovers, wild daisies, chamomile, yarrow, rye, fescue, and baby blue eyes. Some mixes combine flowering greens, while others feature herbs. Chamomile, one source advertises, perfumes the air with the scent of pineapple whenever you step on it. some mixes are meant to be mowed only once a month.
"The Freedom Lawn is becoming a movement. In Milford, Connecticut, residents now compete for an annual Freedom Lawn prize. The Garden Club of America, citing cancer rates, pollution, and water shortages, is promoting something called the New American Lawn, which sounds exactly like a Freedom Lawn."
--from Urban Safari by Hannah Holmes
Green Landscapers
Mother Earth Organic Landscape
Hamden, CT
203- 230-8157 |
The Sweet Wheat Company
Northford, CT
203-484-0499
1-800-688-5296 |
Floriano
730 Hill Road
Hamden, CT 06518
203-230-1017 |
The Giving Tree
PO 250
Bethany, CT
203 - 393-0747 |
Debra Legge
41 West Street
Wallingford, CT 06492
203-294-0554 |
Erin Sturgis
332 Front Street
New Haven, CT 06513
203-787-7417 |
Fountain Gardening Services
Woodbridge, CT 06525
203-230-7080 |
Landscapes by Jake
70 High Lane
North Haven, CT 06473
203-619-3640
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Previous Winners
2007 Freedom Lawn Winners:
- Best Lawn: John Altieri;
- Best Flower Garden: Tina Kosh;
- Best Vegetable Garden: The Carters; and
- Most Creative Veggie Garden: Karen Myers.
2006 Freedom Lawn Winners:
- BEST LAWN: Frank Zabski
(RUNNER-UP: Mr. & Mrs. Iassogna)
- BEST FLOWER GARDEN: Meg Profetto
(RUNNER-UP: Victoria DePalma)
- BEST OVERALL: John & Cheryl Blake
- BEST CONTAINER GARDENING: Amalia Venditti
- BEST NARROW SPACE: Marion Morrow
- BEST VEGETABLE GARDEN: Tammy Jorgensen
- A NOTABLE ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTION FOR RAIN RUNOFF AND A SURGING TIDE: Patrick Winters.
Contest was judged by Laurel Pisano from Treats Farm.
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