Town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia

Links

Recent News
Pesticide Concerns
Landscaping Resources
Government Links
Organic Standards

Recent news

Toronto Star January 2008, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty launched public consultations for a proposed province-wide prohibition on cosmetic pesticide use that would replace existing municipal restrictions with a single law.

Maritimers support lawn pesticides ban, says survey January 2008 polling by the Canadian Cancer Society indicated that more than two-thirds of Maritimers support the idea of a ban on cosmetic pesticides.

CBC.ca - Marketplace In Fall 2007 (Lawn and Order episode), Marketplace exposed retailers selling pesticides in communities with pesticide bans.

Pesticide Concerns

Canadian Cancer Society The Canadian Cancer Society is a community-based organization of volunteers whose mission is the elimination of cancer and enhancement of the quality of lives of people living with cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has identified many pesticide ingredients as known, possible, or probable carcinogens. This has led the Society to support municipal pesticide bylaws and province-wide restrictions on pesticide use and sales.

Canadian Lung Association The Association has endorsed pesticide bylaws and pesticide use reductions on the basis of documented lung effects from pesticide exposures.

OCFP: Pesticides The Ontario College of Family Physicians "Pesticides Literature Review" is the most comprehensive independant Canadian critical review of pesticide research available.

Federal Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development Published "Pesticides, Making the right choice for health and the environment".

Pesticide Action Network Works to replace pesticides with ecologically sound and socially just alternatives.

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) National association for physicians concerned about issues relating to health and the environment.

Canadian Wildlife Federation This site provides information on planning your garden, choosing plants, and supporting wildlife. Their top recommendation is to stop using pesticides

Real Alternatives to Toxins in the Environment (RATE) Monitors the Halifax Regional Municipality pesticide bylaw and promotes activities and alternatives to pesticides.

Landscaping Resources

Versicolor This site is the most extensive online pesticide-free resource for lawn and landscape management in Atlantic Canada.

ACORN: Organopedia A database of organic pest management information in Atlantic Canada.

Go Wild! Project of the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax, focused on pesticide alternatives and converting areas of lawn into other attractive and functional forms.

Landscape Nova Scotia Horticultural Trades Association Contact the association to enquire about their "Soil and Compost Use Guidelines".

U.S. Dept of Agriculture This site provides soil quality information (see online publications).

Soil Foodweb Inc. This site helps understand the roles and importance of soil organisms. There is also an Atlantic Canada Soil Food Web lab in Halifax that will do soil testing and provide recomendations for improving the health of your soil system.

NB Horticultural Trades Association The association published a "Sustainable Turf Manual" with some helpful general guidance as well as technical information for installation and maintenance of lawns

Nova Scotia Agriculture - Soil Analysis for Homeowners The Department of Agriculture Quality Evaluation Services will perform standard soil testing and provide recommendations for turf management.

Environment Canada This site helps explain the environmental toxicology of pesticides. It contains research findings and readings, in particular you may wish to visit their page on Agricultural Pesticides and Amphibian Populations.

Government

HRM The Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) was the first city in Canada to have a pesticide bylaw. The towns of Hudson Quebec and Chelsea Ontario had been the first comunities in Canada to pass bylaws.

Shediac, NB (Bylaw text in MS Word) They adopted the simplest form of a pesticide bylaw, one that works well as a model for smaller communities.

Toronto The first city to adopt testing for pesticides on properties as part of their bylaw investigations.

UNSM Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities - Sustainability Office.

Province of Nova Scotia The Department of Environment and Labour has some responsibilities for controlling pesticide use, commercial applications, and sales in Nova Scotia.

PMRA Canada's Pesticide Management Regulatory Agency is responsible for pesticide registrations in Canada, pesticide label requirements, and pest management policies for Canada.

Organic standards

Society for Organic Urban Land Care (SOUL) Supports landscape professionals and communities in the transition to organic landcare practices.

Organic Landscape Alliance (OLA) Committed to the development of organic horticulture lawncare and landscaping. It provides professionals (including landscape workers, growers, arborists, parks staff and turf managers) the opportunity to network with leading experts in the field.

Organic Agriculture Cente of Canada (OACC) Based in Nova Scotia, the Centre is dedicated to research and education, serving all farmers and students. The Centre has been developing standards for organic production systems, focused primarily on agriculture but applicable in many ways to horticultural landscapes.