A Short History of Beyond Pesticides Ohio
Beyond Pesticides Ohio is the only organization in Ohio that focuses exclusively on pesticide issues. It continues to develop an authoritative voice in northeast Ohio and the state, and has generated effective media attention to and public education both the pesticide problem and effective solutions. For this reason and due to its accomplishments in the area of pest control methods, Beyond Pesticides Ohio is often the first call the media and public officials make when a pesticide concern arises. Beyond Pesticides Ohio has participated in public presentations before city councils and state agencies. It has also been involved in TV/radio/print interviews and debates on public health policy vis-à-vis the use and misuse of toxic chemicals for pest control. Beyond Pesticides Ohio has steered a course that a number of city councils (Lyndhurst, Ohio) and state agencies (Ohio Department of Agriculture) have followed. Since 1985, Beyond Pesticides Ohio either initiated or was instrumental in successfully increasing public awareness of the hazards of pesticides and achieving a concomitant reduction in the use of pesticides:Beyond Pesticides Ohio, in a four-year effort, convinced the Ohio Department of Agriculture and the chemical lawn care industry to require that warning signs be posted on lawns that have been treated with chemicals. This was one of the first such regulations in the nation.
Following an Beyond Pesticides Ohio initiative, Cleveland Heights became the first municipality in the nation to legislatively prohibit the application of lawn chemicals on city property, including schools and day care centers.
Beyond Pesticides Ohio brought about the official adoption of IPM programs in half a dozen school districts as well as community and health centers in Greater Cleveland.
Addressing public fears of both disease and pesticide spraying in the wake of the WNv arrival in Ohio in 2001, Beyond Pesticides Ohio’s intervention resulted in the formation of a Community Task Force in the City of Shaker Heights. Other communities throughout the state have held up the restrained WNv response plan created by the task force as a model.
In May 2002, Beyond Pesticides Ohio held a WNv/Pesticide public forum at John Carroll University. The room was packed with health officials and others from all over Northeast Ohio. One direct result of the forum was that Lyndhurst, Ohio, using Beyond Pesticides Ohio as a resource, passed landmark legislation prohibiting the Cuyahoga County Board of Health from doing any broadcast spraying of pesticides to control WNv. This law has since received nationwide attention and is being used as a national model.
In 2004, Beyond Pesticides Ohio launched its highly successful Pesticide Alternatives for Safer School project funded by The George Gund and Nord Family Foundations. During the three year term of this project, hundreds of public and private schools in Northeast Ohio attended our free workshops to learn Integrated Pest Management and received free consultation from BPO staff and other IPM experts.
In 2006-2007 Beyond Pesticides Ohio initiated a massive educational campaign which resulted in the state requiring all schools K-12, public and private, to adopt written safer pest control policies and practices. Unfortunately, the law was rescinded the following year. Clearly more education on this issue is needed.
In 2010 Beyond Pesticides Ohio worked closely with University Circle's executive director Chris Ronayne. As a result, all six acres of University Circle's Wade Oval are organic and pesticide free. Watch his testimonial video here.
In 2012 Beyond Pesticides Ohio led the educational effort that resulted in Cuyahoga County passing landmark legislation banning pesticides from all county owned properties indoors and outdoors. Already this ordinance is serving as a powerful model for greater Cleveland communities.
In 2014 and Ongoing: University Circle Institutions including Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Art are participating in our Creating Sustainable Buildings and Grounds Project. We have brought in national sustainable pest control experts to lead workshops and walk-through evaluations of their buildings and grounds. Their soil was analyzed and reports and recommendations written and they are well on their way to implementing comprehensive sustainable pest control practices and policies. University Circle is the gem of Northeast Ohio and these institutions will serve as powerful models throughout the region and nation.
In 2015, after educating the owner of the the iconic Shaker Square Shopping Center, he chose to stop using lawn pesticides on its huge amount of turf. This is great news for the shoppers, parents, children, dogs and the farmers who sell their bounty at the weekly Farmer's Market. This also serves as a model for other developers of private and public lands.
Following an Beyond Pesticides Ohio initiative, Cleveland Heights became the first municipality in the nation to legislatively prohibit the application of lawn chemicals on city property, including schools and day care centers.
Beyond Pesticides Ohio brought about the official adoption of IPM programs in half a dozen school districts as well as community and health centers in Greater Cleveland.
Addressing public fears of both disease and pesticide spraying in the wake of the WNv arrival in Ohio in 2001, Beyond Pesticides Ohio’s intervention resulted in the formation of a Community Task Force in the City of Shaker Heights. Other communities throughout the state have held up the restrained WNv response plan created by the task force as a model.
In May 2002, Beyond Pesticides Ohio held a WNv/Pesticide public forum at John Carroll University. The room was packed with health officials and others from all over Northeast Ohio. One direct result of the forum was that Lyndhurst, Ohio, using Beyond Pesticides Ohio as a resource, passed landmark legislation prohibiting the Cuyahoga County Board of Health from doing any broadcast spraying of pesticides to control WNv. This law has since received nationwide attention and is being used as a national model.
In 2004, Beyond Pesticides Ohio launched its highly successful Pesticide Alternatives for Safer School project funded by The George Gund and Nord Family Foundations. During the three year term of this project, hundreds of public and private schools in Northeast Ohio attended our free workshops to learn Integrated Pest Management and received free consultation from BPO staff and other IPM experts.
In 2006-2007 Beyond Pesticides Ohio initiated a massive educational campaign which resulted in the state requiring all schools K-12, public and private, to adopt written safer pest control policies and practices. Unfortunately, the law was rescinded the following year. Clearly more education on this issue is needed.
In 2010 Beyond Pesticides Ohio worked closely with University Circle's executive director Chris Ronayne. As a result, all six acres of University Circle's Wade Oval are organic and pesticide free. Watch his testimonial video here.
In 2012 Beyond Pesticides Ohio led the educational effort that resulted in Cuyahoga County passing landmark legislation banning pesticides from all county owned properties indoors and outdoors. Already this ordinance is serving as a powerful model for greater Cleveland communities.
In 2014 and Ongoing: University Circle Institutions including Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals, the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Art are participating in our Creating Sustainable Buildings and Grounds Project. We have brought in national sustainable pest control experts to lead workshops and walk-through evaluations of their buildings and grounds. Their soil was analyzed and reports and recommendations written and they are well on their way to implementing comprehensive sustainable pest control practices and policies. University Circle is the gem of Northeast Ohio and these institutions will serve as powerful models throughout the region and nation.
In 2015, after educating the owner of the the iconic Shaker Square Shopping Center, he chose to stop using lawn pesticides on its huge amount of turf. This is great news for the shoppers, parents, children, dogs and the farmers who sell their bounty at the weekly Farmer's Market. This also serves as a model for other developers of private and public lands.