Summer Weeding Schedule

Did you know the cities of Seattle, Snohomish and Lynnwood all have city wide pesticide free policies? We have ONE pesticide free park in the city of Everett and if you can join us as a volunteer, we could expand to other parks. Volunteers are needed to help weed and maintain the Lowell Neighborhood Park without the use of pesticides or herbicides.

Friday June 24th from 12-2
Friday July 8th from 10-2
August 19th, 12-2, Ice Cream Social/Weed Pulling!

Weeding parties are fun and great way to meet your neighbors. Light refreshments and tools provided.
call Megan at 425-252-6265 or email: PesticideFreeEverett at gmail.com (replace the at with an @, posting it this way is to prevent spam!)

Weeds Love Our Park

Look at that giant dandelion, pulled by hand without the use of chemicals!

We had a dedicated group of volunteers for April who weeded around the park sign. If you catch a few hours of sunshine and find yourself at the park, feel free to pull a few dandelions, my kids (and your and all of ours) will thank you for it!

Re-posted from the New York Times, April 21, 2011, 1:40 pm
Linked HERE.

Pesticide Exposure in Womb Affects I.Q.

By TARA PARKER-POPE

Babies exposed to high levels of common pesticides in the womb have lower I.Q. scores than their peers by the time they reach school age, according to three new studies.

The research, based on data collected in New York and California from about 1,000 pregnant women and their babies, is certain to set off a new debate about the benefits of organic produce and the risks of chemicals found in the food supply and consumer products. The pesticides, called organophosphates, are commonly sprayed on food crops and are often used to control cockroaches and other pests in city apartments.

The latest findings are based on three separate but similar studies financed by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Two were conducted by researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine and Columbia University and studied urban families in New York; the third was done by researchers at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and focused on children in Salinas, Calif., an agricultural area. All three were published online on Thursday in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

Each study began about a decade ago, when researchers recruited pregnant women who gave blood and urine samples that were used to measure pesticide exposure. In some instances, umbilical cord blood was tested. After the babies were born, the researchers continued to monitor the health of the children and also obtained regular urine samples to determine exposure to pesticides.

Over all, the studies found that women who had higher exposures to pesticides during pregnancy gave birth to children who eventually had lower I.Q. scores once they reached school age. In the Berkeley study, for instance, children with the highest levels of prenatal pesticide exposure scored 7 points lower on intelligence tests compared with children with the lowest levels of exposure. In that study, every 10-fold increase in organophosphate exposure detected during pregnancy corresponded to a 5.5 point drop in overall I.Q. scores.

“I think these are shocking findings,” said Dr. Philip Landrigan, a professor of pediatrics and director of the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai. “Babies exposed to the highest levels had the most severe effects. It means these children are going to have problems as they go through life.”

Dr. Landrigan compared the findings with research in the 1980s that linked childhood lead exposure to lower intelligence, dyslexia, higher risk for dropping out of school and a range of behavioral and developmental problems. As a result of that research, lead was removed from gasoline to prevent exposure from car exhaust, and it was also removed from paints and other consumer products.

The drop in I.Q. scores shown in the pesticide studies is similar to the drops shown in the earlier lead research, Dr. Landrigan said.

“When we took lead out of gasoline, we reduced lead poisoning by 90 percent, and we raised the I.Q. of a whole generation of children by four or five points,’’ said Dr. Landrigan. “I think these findings about pesticides should generate similar controversy, but I’m cautiously optimistic that they will have the effect of having the E.P.A. sharply reduce the use of organophosphate pesticides.”

Individuals can also do more to limit their own exposure. In homes with pest problems, sealing up cracks and crevices in baseboards and cleaning up food residue has been shown to be more effective at controlling cockroaches than using pesticides.

Caleb Kenna for The New York Times

Steps can also be taken to minimize exposure to pesticides in foods, particularly among pregnant women. Buying organic foods can help because certified organic fruits and vegetables aren’t grown with organophosphate pesticides. Better washing and peeling of conventionally grown produce can also reduce exposure.

The Environmental Working Group offers a shopper’s guide showing which foods have the highest and lowest rates of pesticide exposure. Strawberries, peaches, celery, apples and spinach typically have the highest levels of pesticide residue among commercially grown fruits and vegetables. Onions, avocado, frozen corn and pineapple had the lowest levels of pesticide residue.

Earth Day 2011 Be There!

The forecast calls for sun, so meet up with us at Lowell Neighborhood Park on Friday, April 22nd from 3-5 pm for some fun! Weeding, refreshments and a kick off to maintaining our part without pesticides.

Where: Lowell Neighborhood Park
What: Weeding
When; 3-5 pm, Friday, April 22nd

Email PesticideFreeEverett@gmail.com with questions. Families welcome.

Earth Day 2011

Save the date, Earth Day is coming up!

Friday, April 22nd, we'll meet at Lowell Park and start off the Pesticide Free season. Time to be announced.

Sno-Isle Food Co-op in Everett is hosting a movie night, they are showing Human Footprint at 6:00 pm, free and open to the public. See their website for more details: www.snoislefood.coop

Trees At Lowell Park

The PUD has cut down at least 4 trees along South 3rd Ave at Lowell Neighborhood Park. The crew foreperson claimed they were too close to the power lines. We have been told that they will replant trees in this area. For now, it's a very sad corner to look at.

The Office of Neighborhoods is working with the Lowell Civic Association to find out why public input and citizen comment was not considered before the trees were removed.

August Weeding

We had a fun time weeding on Thursday before the rains came! Thirteen volunteers from the neighborhood and Everett Gospel Mission pulled weeds and made our park beautiful. The next generation of helpers joined in the fun, in between swinging and playing at the park.

Thank you to Starbucks on Broadway for donating a container of coffee and blueberry muffins.