A package was delivered to my doorstep on Nov. 11, 2022, containing 221 postcards from Hallowell residents expressing, in writing to their city councilors, their support for limiting the use of synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers in Hallowell.
I am still in awe and inspired by that stack of postcards, which kept the Grow Green & Healthy Hallowell (GGHH) coalition, including me, focused on our goals. Goals to safeguard the health and welfare of the city’s residents, children, and pets; and to protect the Vaughan Brook watershed, waters of the Kennebec River and the city’s wildlife, plants, and soils. Every one of our hundreds of supporters deserves recognition for signing those postcards, and many others for visiting the Grow Green Hallowell website to be added to our mailing list. Thank you for kickstarting a movement that will positively affect the well-being of the Hallowell community for generations. If you called, wrote, or spoke to city officials on either side of Hallowell’s landcare management ordinance dialogue over the past two years, thank you. Your interest, passion, and persistence resulted in a forward-thinking ordinance.
Research, outreach, and education about the dangers of synthetic toxins used in pesticides and fertilizers began with the local GGHH grassroots initiative in early 2021. With one-on-one conversations at the farmer’s market, door-to-door advocacy, and presentations at public meetings — all backed by fact-based science — they enlightened community members. New perspectives on and alternative methods for lawn and garden care were introduced. On Sept. 26, the message was heard, and the Hallowell City Council approved the Landcare Management Ordinance by a unanimous vote, 5-0, with two councilors absent. That is a strong statement from Hallowell’s City Council for their investment in the future health and well-being of the community. Thank you GGHH, Mayor and all City Councilors.
Large monoculture spaces, created by humans, support an endless cycle of synthetic chemical use. They are not productive for the environment and are harmful to various lifeforms. The approved ordinance promotes the least harmful ways to manage unwanted plants and pests.
Is Hallowell’s approved Landcare Management Ordinance perfect? No. However, it moves us in the right direction. It slows the overuse of synthetic pesticides and herbicides, it encourages every Hallowell landowner to think before using a land care product, and it protects the most vulnerable among us.
For all of that, I am thankful and very hopeful for our city’s future.
Rosemary L. Presnar
chair
Hallowell Conservation Commission
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