Better Safe Than Sorry: How Consumers Navigate Exposure to Everyday Toxics was written by Norah McKendrick, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Rutgers University. McKendrick begins by tracing the history of US government inadequacy when it comes to regulating chemicals used in agriculture, food production, and household goods. I found it empowering to be guided through milestone legislation from the past 100 years, learning how laws and restrictions on the sale and use of toxic chemicals were weakened, circumvented, or inadequate from the start.

In 2009, New York State Parks Commissioner Carol Ash signed a Policy on Pesticide Reduction in State Parks and Historic Sites. In this article, I'll discuss points from the document that I found noteworthy for foragers.

Each time I have spoken with park management staff for parks in my area, I've found that there is potential for partnerships with foragers to remove invasive species and weeds that are edible and medicinal.

Before a forager harvests in any location, it's important to learn about the land-use history in that spot, and in the greater area. The Policy on Pesticide Reduction in State Parks and Historic Sites is a great place to begin.

This year, I'll be digging deep into lawn care. The Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) offers a detailed resource for applying organic standards to landscaping and land care. If you rent your home, feel empowered to share this guide with the person you rent from. (If I were your landlady, I'd be delighted to have such a conscientious tenant!)

 If you own land, check out this document to learn how you might better serve the ecosystem your property is a part of--and how to keep your family safer, too.  

 In order for a health practitioner to do the job well, educating oneself about the health effects of environmental contamination is required. I'm grateful for Sandra Steingraber's book Living Downstream- a research-based yet personal exploration of the health effects of environmental contaminants.

When it comes to healthy-looking plants, many gardeners have observed that all the tap water in the world can't compare to a couple of good inches of rainfall. According to Joshua Siskin, garden writer for the Los Angeles Times, "Rainwater collection is not just about saving water but about storing up a reserve of high-quality water for irrigation" (2017). 

So what's different about rainwater compared to what comes out of the tap?

This article is for individuals who haven't made a rain barrel purchase yet and are looking for pointers. For folks who already have a barrel, check out Part 1 of this rain barrel series for tips on reducing the contamination in any barrel.

 In the time it takes a falling raindrop to find its way into a rain barrel, chemical contamination may happen through several avenues. Unlike public water systems, water collected in rain barrels isn't tested for safe levels of contaminants.

In my mind, this isn't a reason to shy away from rain catchment for watering our gardens. It's simply a nudge to make a few adjustments to our system that can significantly increase the safety of our rain barrel water. 

Future historians may well be amazed by our distorted sense of proportion. How could intelligent beings seek to control a few unwanted species by a method that contaminated the entire environment and brought the threat of disease and death even to their own kind? Yet this is precisely what we have done. We have done it, moreover, for reasons that collapse the moment we examine them. 

-Rachel Carson, Silent Spring (19)

Rachel Carson's story has been featured in several books I've picked up recently, including Living Downstream by Sandra Steingraber and Paul Hawken's Blessed Unrest. When I discovered that several friends hadn't heard of her, I felt moved to feature Rachel here. Though I'm not one to feel starstruck by a film actor or rock star, imagining what I might have said to Rachel Carson (if I'd had the opportunity before she passed) makes me feel a bit weak in the knees. Really, "Thank you!" is all there is to say for her brave and groundbreaking work for environmental sustainability and justice.

Yes, this article title was chosen with tongue in cheek. (How fun can lead really be?) However, given my haziness around managing an invisible, scentless soil contaminant like lead, finding concrete information about its behavior under different soil conditions has been pretty exciting. Even, well, fun. Let's jump in!

I was impressed by Lana Nitti's excellent talk at Tedx Utica, which addressed lead contamination in her neighborhood. I'm glad to share this resource from an upstate NY neighbor.

I also wanted to learn how the city of Buffalo is doing in addressing lead contamination. I found this investigative report from May 2019 entitled "Buffalo Lags on Addressing Lead Poisoning." 

When Americans think of lead contamination, Flint, Michigan is the town that probably comes to mind. It's important that this story of community-wide lead contamination due to corrupt, racist water supply decisions by the state government made national news. Our media and government should be focusing attention on environmental justice issues like this. However, this story may have misled other communities into assuming that, since their town hasn't made the news, they must not be at high risk. Unfortunately, lead poisoning is a common problem across the US, particularly in cities and older communities like western NY.

I loved this free 16-page manual on lead-safe gardening and low-cost remediation offered by Worcester Roots. 

Worcester Roots is a Massachusetts-based collective of youth and adult organizers on a mission to create opportunities for economic, social and environmental justice. They send these roots of opportunity into communities, sprouting up co-operatively run and green projects and initiatives that build toward a vision of neighborhoods that are safe for living, working, and playing.

 Phytoremediation is the use of plants to remove and/or transform contaminants in the soil. In general, it's appropriate when there are low to medium levels of contamination present.

The relationship between a plant and a contaminant will vary based on the characteristics of the plant, as well as the chemical or heavy metal.

Youarethecity is an urban research, design and planning practice located in Brooklyn. This guide is free and downloadable!

“This field guide is designed for individual property owners and community groups to initiate a conversation about how to convert this enormous land potential into a productive urban landscape utilizing phytoremediation technologies as a slow but cost-effective clean-up process."   -youarethecity

Microbial remediation utilizes the ability of some bacteria to bind heavy metals in less bioavailable forms, or to break down organic contaminants into more benign substances. (In chemistry, organic means that the substance is carbon-based. This includes many industrial contaminants and agricultural chemicals). Because healthy soil rich in bacteria, fungi, and other organisms is imperative for healthy plant growth, we can't talk about using plants for remediation without starting with bacteria.

Evyn Iacovitti, Environmental Analyst for New York State Parks, emphasized that foraging is prohibited in New York State Parks. However, Evyn said there is potential for partnerships between parks and foragers for invasive species removal. I explained that safe foraging requires knowledge of chemical applications in the area, and asked about herbicide/pesticide application practices.

Last week, Patrick and I did some honeymoon hiking in Colorado. On a trail near the Chautauqua Institution in Boulder, I was delighted to find the sign above. This notice of pesticide application may be the first I've seen in a public park or forest. I love that it tells the hiker which invasive species will be targeted, and lists the dates of application.

Though I wasn't familiar with the park's rules on foraging, I assumed picking a leaf here and there for educational purposes would be no problem. However, it was a problem for the girls I worked with. They heard my shpiel about the importance of knowing whether a lawn or garden is treated with chemicals before we harvest. I suggested that tasting a leaf here and there wouldn't pose enough of a risk to worry-- but a few of the girls were wary (students after my own heart!).

I wish I had made the time for students to call the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy to ask this question for themselves. I'm making the time to find out now-- and will be ready with the answer for next year's program.

Since the safety of biosolids in gardening has not been adequately verified by research-- and in some cases, research indicates possible harmful effects-- I personally avoid applying compost and soil products that contain biosolids to my garden.

This month, I visited several hardware stores and garden centers to see if I could find biosolids in bagged soil and compost products. In addition to biosolids' application on conventional farm fields, municipalities turn this sewage treatment byproduct into bagged compost for residential use. These products can be purchased at garden centers around the country.

I enjoyed this park's beautiful creekside hike this spring, starting at the south end. My walk generated enough questions to do some research. First, I noticed that Ellicott Creek, which runs through the park, smelled like sewage. This didn’t seem to bother the fisherpeople wading with their poles. Turns out, the southern half of the park’s 80 acres is on the flood plain, and is "subject to periodic inundation by floodwaters" (Town of Amherst). What is known about the water quality?