Grow Smart Grow Safe

Great story from OPB about farmers who voluntarily worked with their local soil and conservation districts to reduce pesticide use. When it comes to pesticides that end up in our rivers and streams, though, farmers are only part of the picture. Our homes, yards and gardens can also become an inadvertent source of pollution in our local streams in rivers.

Food for thought: have you ever applied pesticides to control moss, insects or weeds on your property? Planning on doing it again soon? It’s a good idea to get to know those products before you use them, learn how and when to apply them, and perhaps find alternatives if your go-to product is harmful to fish, wildlife and humans when it ends up in the water. Grow Smart Grow Safe, put together by Thurston County, Washington is a great tool for Northwest homeowners who want to voluntarily reduce their pesticide use along with the concerned farmers in their area: https://www.growsmartgrowsafe.org/