Protect South Portland played an important role in mobilizing support for this ground breaking ordinance in the City of South Portland, Maine.

How did this happen?

“Bees, Bays and Backyards”, a committee of PSP, began exploring a possible pesticide ordinance in the spring of 2015.  With the help of Beyond Pesticides, a national organization in Washington, and Friends of Casco Bay, a well-known local organization, we were able to bring to a City Council Workshop session a full scale presentation of the issues involved in the use of synthetic pesticides.  Experts in the dangers that these substances pose to the health of humans and wildlife were also able to outline solutions to these threats.  Special attention was paid to the importance of protecting the many pollinators, the bees and butterflies, who make our planet fruitful.  The Council unanimously got behind the proposal to explore an ordinance that would address this issue.  Their first act was to appoint a three-person staff committee to carry out this task.

People Power at the root of what we do

We:

• promoted attendance at City Council meetings

• publicized workshops for landscape professionals

• wrote letters to the editors of local papers

• collaborated with beekeepers and organic gardeners

• were joined in our efforts by like-minded citizens of neighboring cities and towns

The Final Ordinance: An Adventure in Education

Based on the principle “first do no harm”, South Portland’s ordinance carries no penalties for non-conformance but relies on the good will and good sense of an informed citizenry. As a consequence the ordinance is rooted in the belief that a rich and widely distributed educational program will be of far greater use in the long run.

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 For more information about the Ordinance and how to grow a healthy yard and garden, visit: 

South Portland gets Grant for Demonstration of Organic Lawn Care

To help educate our residents on our pesticide ordinance and organic lawn care, South Portland has entered into a partnership with Stonyfield Organic to create a natural turf demonstration area at Bug Light Park. 

South Portland has the honor of being the first city chosen to receive a $5,000 grant to be used towards purchasing organic inputs or landscaping equipment needed for organic management. 

On September 29 Stonyfield Organic held a “field day” at the park with educational booths, food and entertainment.  Stonyfield will also underwrite the cost of two experts from Osborne Organics and Beyond Pesticides to manage the project.

Goats Clearing Invasives

To comply with the South Portland’s Pesticide Ordinance the City’s Parks and Water Resource Departments partnered with the Pesticide Management Advisory Committee, (PMAC) and brought in a herd of 8 goats to eat invasive Japanese knotweed and bittersweet that had taken over Yerxa Park, a one acre underutilized park off the Greenbelt in South Portland.

Using the goats rather than the usual applications of pesticides to kill the invasives is in line with the city's sustainability objectives as well as being economical.  The cost of $600 to rent the goats for one week is being funded as part of the $15,000 awarded from the Community Development Block Grant Program to rehabilitate the park.

Following the goats clearing this past September, heavy landscaping cloth will be placed over the area for about 2 years to complete the destruction of the invasives. After that is completed, further work on the park will include creating a trail, establishing native plantings and placing interpretive educational signs and additional benches. 

PMAC is using this park as a demonstration project as part of their mandate under the Pesticide Ordinance to provide educational outreach to show citizens alternatives to a reliance on synthetic pesticides which are banned under the Pesticide Ordinance excepting for health and safety reasons. 

The goats are owned by Scapegoats, a business from Kennebunk.  The charismatic, adorable goats developed a following, with many people coming several times a day to watch them perform their work.  See more about the goats at Grow Healthy South Portland.