Pesticide-Free Campuses Chapter—The Green Campus (2008), APPA

What is the significance of a round sign emblazoned with a ladybug and the words “Pesticide-Free Zone”? At The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, it is an institutional commitment to maintaining grounds without pesticides that dates back to the college’s founding. At Seattle University, the signs signify that grounds manager Craig Chatburn has “cleaned all pesticides from our storage locker”. According to Philip Dickey, staff scientist at the Washington Toxics Coalition, The Evergreen State College and Seattle University campuses are two large landscapes that bring visibility to a growing trend—choosing to manage grounds without the use of synthetic pesticides. Dickey said that the inspiration for the campaign came from repeatedly seeing signs warning that an area had been recently treated with pesticides. “Wouldn’t it be a nice thing to have a way to identify landscapes that are not treated with traditional pesticides?” Dickey asked.

Moving to pesticide-free landscape management has continued to expand in scope with several cities and institutions across the US leading the way. In 2006, the City of Portland, Oregon, announced that three of its neighborhood parks would become pesticide-free. The City of Santa Barbara prohibits pesticide spraying within 100 feet of playgrounds and 25 feet of picnic areas. In addition, 3 of the city’s large parks, including the Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens are designated as pesticide-free areas, along with 9 neighborhood parks also managed without pesticides. Other cities including Wichita and Lawrence, Kansas; Eugene, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; Bozeman and Helena, Montana; and Waterloo, Ontario, manage some or all of their parks and greenspace without pesticides. Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, has established eight pesticide-free zones on its campus. Bastyr University located north of Seattle manages its campus without pesticides.

Why Pesticide Free?

As college and university campuses move towards comprehensive integration of sustainability into their master plans, discussions of the appropriateness of using pesticides on grounds and in buildings are becoming more common. Green proponents cite deleterious effects on the environment and pesticide’s documented human health impacts as reasons to move away from pesticide use on campuses. Facilities managers become embroiled between pesticide detractors on one side, and real or perceived needs for maintaining landscape standards on the other. Pest problems in campus buildings, including insects and rodents, often present a particular challenge due to occupant’s demands for pest control.

A multitude of factors drive the decision for campuses to maintain grounds without pesticides. At Evergreen and at Seattle University, an institutional commitment to not using pesticides appears to be the single biggest influence. According to Cliff Hepburn, former Director of Grounds at Evergreen, an administrative prohibition on pesticide use on the Evergreen campus was in place since shortly after the institution was founded in the early 1970s. This prohibition reflects the alternative character of the institution and, in fact, some areas on campus absolutely depend on being pesticide-free. Evergreen has an organic farm with 38,000 square feet of growing area that is used for teaching in academic programs and to provide organic food to students by way of campus food services.

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