Toxic-free zone - Bold Strokes - Los Angeles Unified School District endorses integrated pest management - Brief Article

Sierra, July-August, 2002

When Los Angeles parent Robina Suwol found out her kids had seen a gardener in a hazardous-materials suit spraying chemicals all over their schoolyard, she decided to investigate. She discovered that the school district regularly used pesticides and herbicides known to have serious health effects on children.

Suwol started the Los Angeles Safe Schools Coalition with another concerned mom, Wendy Cohen, and went to work to change the district's toxic policies. Thanks to them, the entire Los Angeles Unified School District, which has more than 722,000 students, has endorsed integrated pest management, pledging to implement least-toxic measures to control weeds and bugs. Last winter, the team also won an agreement that all parents will now have a right to know when poisons are going to be sprayed at their kids' schools. According to California governor Gray Davis, who gave the two women a special commendation for their work, these new policies have become models for schools nationwide.