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economist sun tribune earth day saturday april 19 2003 staff photomike barrett katherine joyce 13 of the first stouffville pathfinders and mitchell millard 9 of the first stouffville cubs build a birdhouse at the ontario spca headquarters last weekend the scouts and guides helped prepare animal habitats for the grounds of the building on woodbine avenue at vivian road its one of many events scheduled around earth week councils wary of private pesticide bans politicians want public input before regulating home use of lawn chemicals bymikeadler staff writer despite concerns about pesti cides york region politicians are not ready to introduce bylaws ban ning their use on private property average vaughan residents still think a lawn cant look good unless it has been treated with her bicide councillor susan kadis admitted this week a year ago ms kadis drew up motions for a cosmetic pesticide use ban in the city but dropped them after talking to fellow coun cillors today could i get it through no but down the road its a possi bility she said york region which crafted a policy last year restricting pesticide use on lands it owns continues to ask residents which restrictions if any they want everywhere else what happens in toronto next month is expected to change the debate here toronto council could be the first large municipal govern ment in ontario to introduce a pesticide ban i think a lot of people are going to be looking at markham to follow torontos lead predicted markham councillor erin shapero who favours a cosmeticuse ban which wouldnt apply in cases of extreme infestation or health emergencies such as west nile virus control whitchurchstouftville mean while introduced the regions first proposed pesticide bylaw this month but the proposed bylaw which could take effect next spring only applies to commercial pesticide applicators requiring them to be accredited in the chemical indus trys integrated pest management ipm program homeowners and farmers under the bylaw would still be able to spray their own properties we cant touch private proper ty owners argued whitchurch stouffville councillor mark carroll although the proposed toronto bylaw and others passed in halifax and quebec municipalities are aiming to do exactly that because its a legal product people can go in and purchase it and spray it mr carroll said by requiring ipm which encourages compa nies to discuss options other than pesticides with customers the town is betting on a gradual reduc tion in their use trained applicator were putting our faith in the trained applicator municipalities should educate the public about ipm and leave pesticide regulation to the federal and provincial governments said lome hepworth president of croplife canada a group repre senting pesticide manufacturers torontos proposed bylaw may be good politics but its bad sci ence he argued we recognize that our prod ucts are not without risk mr hepworth added thats why were a heavily regulated industry but environmentalists pushing york politicians toward a ban say lpm is a farce janet may coordinator for the york region environmental alliance said she attended a one- day lpm symposium in toronto last month sending one employee to the session is all a company must do each year to operate under the proposed whitchurch- stouftville bylaw she said but the process is guided by industry and does not include an exam many companies already offer customers an organic alternative ms may argued if the other lawn care companies cant change with the times should we as a society support them regional councillor diane humeniuk of newmarket said the region needs to hear how the pub lic feels about a potential pesticide ban earlier this year ms humeniuk told newmarket councillors resi- dents strongly favour a pesticide ban but this week she suggested the town is not necessarily the regions first target for such a bylaw lots of ways to do your part for earth day tuesday is earth day a winters worth of fitter is wait ing in york region parks and ravines thousands of saplings and shrubs are ready for planting luckily municipalities and com munity groups will be giving citi zens plenty of chances to join in many municipalities encourage citizens to take part in the annual pitchin canada week april 2127 providing bags and gloves to volun teers if you go planting its best to bring a shovel gardening gloves boots and sunscreen jf possible call the municipality or group before you go earth day canada which you can contact at wwwearthdayca or 4165991991 offers tips on fegis tering your own earth day event and tips on organizing one tuesday april 22 tree planting and habitat creation ton ontario spca properly woodbine avenue whitchurchstoufrville call gta wetland watch at 4162840257 wednesday april 23 granger greenway tree planting 10 am 3 pm at canada company drive and islington avenue woodbridge discussions on the american kestrel and alternatives to spraying your lawn at ecopark bartley smith greenway 930 1030 am on audia court concord friday april 25 earth day scarborough tree planting 10 1145 am at paramount park parkway avenue 7 saturday april 26 milne park community planting 9 am noon at milne dam conservation area markham free york region transit shuttle from south lot of markville shopping centre mayors earth day 9 am- 2 pm behind old library on main street stouffville tree planting at lebovic leisure centre birds of prey beavers nature walk save the rouge valley system tree plant ing 10 am 130 pm near stream in paramount park parkway avenue markham call 4162829983 to confirm time tree planting and clean up of glen shields park 2 4 pm glen shields avenue thornhill sunday april 27 york region naturally a symposium and exhibits on lawn care gardening and agricul ture with gardening expert ed lawrence and other speakers 10 am 4 pm at thornhill community centre bayview avenue and john street presented by york region environmental alliance thursday may 1 pomona mills park spring community planting 5 730 pm in west section of the park henderson avenue north of john street thornhill saturday may 3 save the rouge valley system tree plant ing 10 am 130 pm near stream in paramount park parkway avenue markham call 4162829983 to confirm time markham museum community planting 9 am 1 pm on museum grounds hwy 48 north of 16th avenue markham mv i expose yourself to art fifth annual art auction and silent auction ma bate leeatien prieef wdndiy may 7 ji003 preview i30 700 pm angus qlen eif club 10010 kennedy read mafkham eempllmentarywlhe jfwfk t22122 heated by the varfay velunteer committee rfi ssfe pfftffn0 pmn laboblams i pfflfinal pflfi i our i thenteter uihmmtoflwbttr-