May 26, 2009
Does David Suzuki dig your garden?
The third annual David Suzuki Digs My Garden contest is on full steam ahead this year, with the three winning gardeners featured as bloggers on the brand new DMG website. Each week the bloggers—from Richmond, BC, Edmonton, AB, and Ancanster, ON—post blogs and videos, and help answer questions from the public such as, how do I thwart those pesky digging squirrels? or, how do I get rid of dandelions without chemicals? It's all about being green, too—these gardeners pride themselves on having beautiful foliage without the pesticides.
The new site and campaign is all about interactivity. "Here you'll learn from and teach others about the trials, tribulations and triumphs of gardening pesticide-free. See videos of local planters in action, get advice from other green thumbs, and share your own backyard stories. Get involved in growing a healthy community."
Whether you're a seasoned gardener or a total newbie like me (my friend insisted with her birthday gift of seeds that I learn how to garden OUTdoors now), you can benefit from the Tips Q&A and the weekly posts from competition winners and volunteer bloggers as well.
"Alongside some Tips from the pros, our featured gardeners are sharing their stories of pesticide-free planting: from early efforts in soil prep and composting, through seeding and weeding, to reaping the joys of their harvest. And all without the use of toxic pesticides, which were banned this year in Ontario and Quebec and could be headed that way in PEI and New Brunswick."
I can't forget to mention, they've also got a photo contest going on to send in "a photo and the story of how you garden pesticide-free" (you have til August 15th) and can even sign up for Digs updates for a chance to get an awesome David Suzuki Digs My Garden 100% Pesticide-Free T-Shirt. (I want one.) You can also order them online.
When you're finished having some green fun, help others go pesticide-free and keep your kids safe by telling your Premier that you want strong protections against the health risks of lawn and garden pesticides. I was shocked by something Stacey Malkin told us at EPIC Vancouver a couple weeks ago: there are children whose bodies are contaminated with pesticides that have been banned in the US for decades and have never been used on their own property. One woman felt violated at the presence of the chemicals in her own body because she had never given permission to the chemical's producer to expose her to it. Children are the most at risk because, among other things, Malkin said, they don't detoxify at the same rate as adults. That's just a few of the many reasons to ban the use of cosmetic pesticides at home and on public property.
A spring tulip from our own pesticide-free garden:
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About
I am a communication designer in Vancouver, BC. Most of my writing and community activism are in the interconnected issues of public transit, local eating and food security, politics, health, environment, and sustainability in general. At heart, I'm a geek and a total treehugger. Nature, tea, good food and great company make me happy.
Currently reading:
"Trauma Farm: A Rebel History of Rural Life"
Brian Brett
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