David Suzuki digs my 100% natural garden

By: David Suzuki Foundation


(en Français) VANCOUVER – This summer, Canada’s green thumbs may just get a little greener. In a bid to encourage more Canadians to grow their gardens without chemical pesticides, the David Suzuki Foundation kicks off its 2nd annual David Suzuki Digs My Garden contest – and this year, it features a garden gnome bearing a striking resemblance to a certain 72-year-old environmentalist.

“Children rolling around on the grass during the summer should be a time of joy, not pesticide exposure,” says David Suzuki. “Yet many of the private yards and public parks that we enjoy are coated with toxic chemical pesticides that are simply unnecessary.”

The Digs My Garden photo contest encourages gardeners to submit photos and stories about how and why they maintain their gardens 100% pesticide-free. Novice and non-gardeners can also sign-up to receive tips on how to grow luscious lawns and gardens ‘drug-free’. Winners will be selected within four categories, including: Outstanding Ornamentals, Luscious Lawns, Voluminous Vegetables, and Balcony Bliss.

To highlight the campaign throughout the summer, a red-capped, bespectacled ‘David Suzuki Garden Gnome’ will be popping up in natural gardens across the country.

“This contest showcases Canada’s most bountiful and beautiful gardens and demonstrates just how easy it is to grow vegetables, fruit, flowers and shrubs without harmful chemicals,” says Dr. Suzuki, who was initially surprised by the uncanny likeness of the two-foot tall ceramic facsimile.

Exposure to pesticides can lead to serious illness such as cancers, neurological diseases and reproductive problems. At least 50 active pesticide ingredients registered for use in Canada have been banned in other countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden, for example) due to health or environmental concerns. One popular lawn herbicide called "2,4-D", can easily be found in products in many Canadian hardware stores. Pesticides can also accumulate in the natural food chain, destroy bacteria and nutrients that improve soil and nourish plants, and kill off important insects such as ladybugs and honeybees.

“The mere presence of pesticides in a home, garage, or garden creates a risk of accidental exposure to homeowners and children, as does the application of pesticides," says Lisa Gue, the Foundation's health and environment policy analyst. “Not only do non-toxic gardening products and techniques offer ready alternatives; no reasonable citizen would uphold the value of a weed-free lawn over the health of children.”

Gardening is one of the most popular pastimes in Canada:
- Nearly 75 per cent of Canadian households have a lawn or garden (2006).
- On an average day, more than 10 per cent of Canadians aged 30 and over spend time working on their lawn or garden, with the average participant spending more than two hours doing yard work.
- In spite of increased efforts to build awareness of the potential health threats of pesticides nearly 30 per cent of households in Canada still use pesticides on their lawns and gardens.

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For more information, images and video of the David Suzuki ‘gnome’, as well as contest instructions, visit: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/GardenContest/

For more information:
Jason Curran
Communications specialist
David Suzuki Foundation
Office: 604-732-4228, ext. 229
Cell: 604-961-9591

source: David Suzuki Foundation