Peter Hinrichs Connects Youths with the Organic Environment OLC Apprentice Program Going Strong in Massachusetts

by Kathy Litchfield as part of our "Out and About with AOLCPs" series.

Transplanting seedlings, selling organic plants to customers and maintaining school grounds organically is all in a day’s work for the 75 students engaged in Peter Hinrichs’ curriculum at The Learning Prep School in West Newton, Mass.

Hinrichs, accredited since 2009 (Newburyport, MA course) works as the horticultural specialist,  reenhouse manager and curriculum developer for the alternative school’s landscape program. To his new position (he started in February 2013) he brings five years experience working with inner-city youths aged 16-22 at YouthBuild Boston. Hinrichs sees parallels amongst these young populations.

“All of these students are highly functional and have an interest in working with the landscape. They all need skills to move forward and earn credentials they can take with them upon high school graduation,” he said. “Basically I’ve found that most of the kids I worked with in an urban environment have the same disadvantages and developmental obstacles as the kids I’m working with here at the Learning Prep School. We offer hands on learning and alternatives to the traditional school model including life skills to help them be independent adults and see education from a different perspective.” Hinrichs’ present students are 16-18 years old and have varied developmental learning disabilities. However, when they’re in the greenhouse, Hinrichs says the learning field is leveled.

“In the horticultural environment, they all come together to do hands-on work that is new to all of them. The work that happens here is something everybody can grasp and understand. Everyone’s learning the same thing and everyone is treated the same way,” he explained.

"Teaching students how to start seeds, grow plants, control pests organically with beneficial insects and organically maintain school grounds are skills the students can use in everyday life as well as for a potential career," he said.

“There are so many teachable moments, in horticulture, organic landscape development, sustainability and customer service,” he said. “We teach them processes here in the greenhouse that they can compare to what happens naturally outside the greenhouse in the natural environment. It’s important to get them to understand things that affect them and help them make connections to the natural environment.”

During the five years Hinrichs worked at YouthBuild Boston’s horticultural program, he founded an Organic Land Care Apprentice Program, partnering with NOFA/Mass. Through an intensive five day curriculum each July, the youths learn organic land care skills, pass a test, and earn an achievement certificate that serves as a credential to help them gain employment.

The curriculum, which Hinrichs authored, involves learning through installing public organic land care demonstration projects and working with well-established AOLCPs as teachers.

In 2011, youths from YouthBuild Boston, the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy and the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative planted a “lawn alternative” garden at the Boston Nature Center’s Audubon facility in Mattapan; last year youths cleaned up and renovated a Roxbury neighborhood park.

In 2011, 13 students achieved the certificate; last year 12 did. Several have gone on to work in the landscape industry¸ one at the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway Conservancy in Boston and another for an interior plant company utilizing organic practices in Boston.

“We plan to continue the program this summer with the hope that it can become a model other organizations and schools can use,” Hinrichs said. In addition to providing youths with employment skills and a horticultural education, the public demonstration projects serve as excellent outreach for adults of all ages to learn about organic land care and organizations working together can pool resources to gain funding and educate more young people.

“These kids are the next generation and it’s important to connect them to the environment,” he said. “I like working with people and sharing what I’ve learned in my own life. It’s my passion for the environment and passion for people. This is not just a job for me - I go home and practice this in my own yard, it’s just part of my life.”

A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Hinrichs grew up exploring the woods, ponds and fields of his rural environment as well as visiting museums, art exhibitions and cities. This well rounded exposure fueled him with an appreciation he now shares with his students and professionals in the organic land care field.

“My sons, aged 8 and 10, asked me how they can make money recently and I recalled as a young boy collecting newspapers and selling them to this factory, by the pound, that would turn them into flowerpots. I’d make pretty good money,” he said. “Then there was the summer I rode my bike to this condo complex every day to mow and weed perennial beds. I was a young entrepreneur and I want to instill that in my own sons and the students I work with.”

For 20 years, Hinrichs has worked in public horticulture, designing and installing gardens in Connecticut and Massachusetts, utilizing his degree in landscape architecture from UMass Amherst. He has served on the boards of the Ecological Landscaping Association and NOFA Organic Land Care Program.

Through his own business, Dig In It Inc., he offers design consultation and is presently designing and installing rain gardens and stormwater management systems. One project is with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s Region 1 Laboratory in Chelmsford, Mass. to install rain gardens and bioswales and integrate organic practices including native vegetation throughout the property’s five acres. The laboratory boasts a LEED Platinum Certified building as well.

Hinrichs is also working with the Worcester Youth Center’s students to design and build two rain gardens this summer.

“My goal is to help connect kids and people to the environment, get them invested in it and see the fruits of their labor,” he said. “I try to get people to see that work can be part of your life. If you practice sustainable and organic practices, it affects every part of your day and is so beneficial and fruitful.”

The Learning Prep School’s greenhouse and nursery facility is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through June 8.

Dogs Absorb Lawn Chemicals

You might think this is a no brainer, or you might have never even thought about it, but a new study out of Perdue University (and reported on by the Discovery Channel) shows a correlation between lawn pesticides and a higher risk of bladder cancer in dogs. The study also suggests that other pets and children are also at risk of ingesting these chemicals and increasing their risk of cancer as a result, even if it isn't your lawn that's being sprayed, but your neighbor's.

The Discovery article talks a lot about the risks, the science, and industry standards for pesticide application, but it doesn't talk about organic alternatives to spraying directly in the article. Scroll through the captions for the images in the slideshow at the top of the article for some helpful tips for growing a sustainable lawn, but keep in mind that one of the suggestions, corn gluten, is not recommended by the NOFA Standards for Organic Land Care. You can also see a more comprehensive set of tips and guidelines for growing an organic lawn or garden by viewing the pdf of our Introduction to Organic Lawns and Yards booklet here. (You can also purchase hard copies of the booklet here.)

The best way to prevent chemical absorption for lawn pesticides is to stop spraying your lawn with them, and talking to your neighbors about it if they spray their lawns. You can still have a green and beautiful looking lawn without the use of harmful cancer-causing chemicals, and you and your lawn will be healthier in the long run if you do transition to organic.  Need some help getting started?  View a list of our Accredited Organic Land Care Professionals, who are in business to help you care for your property organically, on our searchable database here.

Have a great day!
-Melissa

Lawn Certificate Course at Audubon Greenwich

Diba Kahn-Bureau discusses how water quality is affected by nutrient
runoff from fertilizers.

Program Director Jenna Messier introduces Chip Osborne

On March 19, Audubon Greenwich hosted our second Lawn Certificate Course funded by the Long Island Sound Futures Fund. It was a tough day to plan a full day course, since the northeast was hit with (another) snow and ice and sleet storm. But our attendees persevered to learn more about how organic lawn care contributes to water quality in rivers, wells and Long Island Sound.

Chip Osborne discusses Turfgrass Fertilization

Judy Preston started the day with "Surf and Turf" an explanation of lawn practices and their impact on Long Island Sound water quality. Diba Kahn-Bureau talked more about soil health and water quality after Judy's presentation

Chip Osborne of Osborne organics taught an introduction to organic lawn care. Chip's segment on turgrass fertility focused on the use of organic inputs to improve soil biology, suppress plant disease, improve soil structure and encourage over all plant health. Frank Crandall of Horticultural Solutions taught about pricing of organic services and making organic profitable to sustain a landscaping business.  Chip Osborne ended the day discussing cultural practices with organic turf like mowing and irrigation, and how to address turf grass pests.

The Audubon Center in Greenwich was a great place to have our course - because they have already hosted a number of courses with Chip and are committed to pesticide reduction to benefit wildlife.  Check out these seven reasons to create organic lawns and gardens from Audubon at Home:
1. 67 million birds are killed every year by pesticides.
(U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Audubon, March-April 2007, p. 88)
(Burg, Robert, ed. “The Long Island Sound Study,” Sound Health 2006. EPA Long Island Sound 
Office, Stamford, CT.: p.12)2. Fertilizers and pesticides from lawn runoff are highly damaging to the ecology of our streams, ponds, and the Long Island Sound.
(Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, U.S. Center for Disease 
Control, January 2003)

Audubon Greenwich

3. 100% of Americans have traces of pesticides in their body tissue.
(Second National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals, U.S. Center for Disease 
Control, January 2003)
4. Children living in households where pesticides are used have higher rates 
of leukemia and brain cancer.
(Leiss, J. et al. 1995. “Home Pesticide Use and Childhood Cancer: A Case Control Study,” American 
Journal of Public Health 85: 249-252)
5. Three separate studies in 2011 have linked common pesticides to long 
term reduction in cognitive development in children. 
(Bouchard, M.F. et al. 2011. “Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphate Pesticides and IQ in 7-year old 
Children,” Environmental Health Perspectives Online, Engel, S.M. et al. 2011. “Prenatal Exposure to 
Organophosphates, Paraxonase 1, and Cognitive Development in Childhood,” Environmental Health 
Perspectives Online, Rauh, V. et al. 2011. “7-Year Neurodevelopmental Scores and Prenatal Exposure to 
Chlorpyrifos, a Common Agricultural Pesticide, Environmental Health Perspectives Online)
6. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (the 2nd fastest growing cancer in the U.S.) 
is linked to common herbicides and fungicides.
(Zahm, S. et al. 1990 “A Case Control Study of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and the Herbicide 2,4-D,” 
Epidemiology 1 (5): 349-356)
7. Dogs whose owners use 2,4-D (common weed killer) on their lawns are 
twice as likely to die of cancer.
(Hayes, H. et al, 1991. “Case Control Study of Canine Malignant Lymphoma: Positive Association with 
Dog Owners’ Use of 2,4-D Acid Herbicides,” Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 83 (17): 1226)

A big thanks to our friends at Greenwich Audubon, to our presenters, and to our attendees who weathered the storm to learn about organic lawn and turf care!

Call Your Legislator: Current Bills to Expand Restrictions on CT Pesticide Applications

In the world of conventional lawn and land care in Connecticut, the coming of spring heralds the onset of chemical pesticide applications to residential lawns, parks, municipal grounds, and some schools. Municipalities and towns currently have difficulty obtaining the authority to regulate pesticide applications on their public and private grounds, and while CT has a pesticide ban in place right now for K-8 public schools, grade 9-12 schools are not included in the legislation.

Soon, however, all that may change.  This year, several bills were introduced at the capitol that, if passed, would aid in the reduction or elimination of synthetic pesticides on secondary school grounds, municipal parks and recreation areas, and residential areas by town.  Here's the background about each bill:

Raised Bill 914: An Act Concerning the Application of Pesticides at Municipal Parks
If passed, this bill will apply the same restrictions concerning the application of pesticides at day care centers to the application of pesticides at municipal parks. These restrictions will help protect the people who enjoy the municipal parks from needless chemical exposure, and will also prevent the poisoning and resulting population decline of the insect population that many species of birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals rely on as a food source.  Check out the Connecticut Audubon Society's testimony in support of this bill here.

Raised Bill 981: An Act Concerning Pesticides on School Grounds
If passed, this bill will expand the ban on the use of lawn care pesticides in schools to include schools with students in grades nine to twelve, inclusive.  This extends the current K-8 ban to include all levels of elementary and secondary education, providing Connecticut's children with an uninterrupted pesticide-free education. CT NOFA, which the NOFA Organic Land Care Program is a part of, is a member of the Connecticut Safe Grounds Coalition that supports the K-8 ban.  For the Coalition, and for any parent of education employee, this is big news.

Proposed Bill 5411: An Act Authorizing Certain Municipal Regulations of the Application of Pesticides on Residential Properties
If passed, this bill will enable municipalities to enact pesticide application regulations that are more stringent than the regulations adopted by the state in order to protect aquifers and environmentally sensitive areas from contamination and to protect children and pets from the toxic effects of pesticides. This bill is similar to the following bill (6440) in that it allows municipalities more authority to pass regulations independently of the state.

Raised Bill 6440: An Act Concerning Municipalities and the Application of Lawn Care Pesticides
If passed, this bill will allow municipalities to apply to the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection for the authority to regulate the spraying of lawn care pesticides in such municipality. Currently, even if a town or municipality wanted to adopt pesticide regulations that were more stringent than those enforced by the state, it would be illegal to do so because the state law preempts the local law.  This bill will empower communities to take action against toxic chemicals on their landscapes, even if the state has yet to enact similar measures.

All of these bills are extremely important when thinking about a holistic approach to human health, wildlife conservation, and environmental protection.  If we are to effectively avoid chemical pesticide exposure, both for ourselves and for other species, we ultimately need to regulate the application of such chemicals in all areas and in all industries.  Individual regulations are incredibly important, both in mitigating chemical exposure and in showing us the path we need to head in, but each individual regulation is only part of a much larger, more encompassing, and vital whole.

Please call your legislator today in support of one or more of these bills.  If you're not sure who your legislators are, you can use this online tool to find out. Working together, we can take control of our health and the health of the world around us.

Have a great weekend,
Melissa

Pesticide Regulation in the News: New Legislation Could Harm Our Waterways

One of the main principles of organic land care is to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. There are many reasons for this principle, one being to reduce the pollution of our waterways.

As of recently,  U.S. Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Mike Johanns (R-NE) re-introduced legislation that would reduce the review requirements for pesticides that are directly applied to water. The legislation would ensure that Clean Water Act (CWA) permits are not required for the application of pesticides. This is the second attempt for this type of legislation to be passed. The previous Senate version of the bill, Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2011, never reached the Senate floor due to holds put on the act by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Benjamin Cardin (D-MD).

This article from BeyondPesticides.org gives a great overview the legislation and why sustaining CWA permits is so important.


       "In 2009, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the case of theNational Cotton Council et al. v. EPAthat pesticides discharged into water are pollutants and required to be permitted under the CWA’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES). This ruling overturned Bush administration policy that exempted pesticides from regulation under the CWA and applied the less protective standards of theFederal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). CWA uses a health-based standard known as maximum contamination levels (MCLs) to protect waterways and requires permits when chemicals are directly deposited into rivers, lakes and streams, whereas FIFRA uses a highly generalized risk assessment that does not consider the availability of safer alternatives.

The proponents of this legislation claim that requiring a CWA permit creates a double layer of red tape that is costly to the agriculture industry and consumers. However, FIFRA and CWA are complementary laws and the CWA permit process only affects a small number of pesticide applications. The two statutes have fundamentally different standards and methods in determining whether a pesticide will have unreasonable adverse effects on the environment and/or human health. The CWA statute is more stringent than FIFRA. CWA has a “zero discharge” standard, meaning any amount of discharge, no matter how small, without a permit, constitutes a violation of the CWA. Risk assessment, on the other hand, used under FIFRA, is weaker than a “zero” standard. Risk/benefit allows a certain amount of pollution (i.e. risk) in exchange for controversial calculations of benefit and use a threshold of harm that can vary upon EPA discretion. Since the CWA statute is more stringent in its oversight of U.S. waterways, and thus provides increased safeguards for human health and the environment, FIFRA should not be allowed to override the CWA.

Proponents of this legislation also claim that this permit process would restrict public health officials from using pesticides to control mosquitoes and the spread of West Nile virus (WNv). However, as evidenced through scientific studies and experiences from communities around the country, spraying pesticides is not an effective or efficient way to prevent death or illness associated with insect-borne WNv. Moreover, spraying for WNv can be harmful to non-target species, adversely affect wildlife, and contaminate drinking water sources."

Best,
Katie

Guest blogger Bernadette Giblin, NOFA AOLCP & Founder, Safeground Organic Landcare Consulting

“The City of Brotherly Love” is filled with many incredible murals. This one adjacent the PHS seemed to capture
 the spirit of NOFA’s OLC accreditation course.

The “CHANGING THE GAME” billboard in the backdrop of the
PECO green roof seemed to signify what NOFA
accreditation is all about. 

I’m back from having a great time participating in the first NOFA Organic Land Care Accreditation Course of 2013!  The January 14^th-17^th course held in Philadelphia, PA was not only the season opener but, it was also the first time the course was on the road in Pennsylvania. CT NOFA OLC had the pleasure of collaborating with the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. And what a great partner they found in PHS.  They’re the organization that’s responsible for the largest indoor flower show in the World! And they did a super job hosting the 50+ enthusiastic participants at PHS on Monday- Thursday for the NOFA OLC Accreditation Course. Many of which, I’m pleased to report, were from Philadelphia Park & Recreation. 

Courtesty of PWD websitehttp://www.phillywatersheds.org/

 Julie Snell and Nancy O’Donnell, just two of the supportive PHS team members we had the pleasure of getting acquainted with, helped make everyone feel welcome in these great accommodating facilities. 

And it goes without saying that dedicated OLC staffers worked tirelessly delivering the highest quality programming that the course  has become synonymous with.

It’s always fun and rewarding being in the company of AOLCP’s sharing our commitment to protecting the health of the environment through educating traditional landscapers and other green professional in organic management best practices.   I had the distinct pleasure of kicking off the course with the Principles & Procedures section normally taught by founding OLC Board Member Kim Stoner, who was unable to attend.  I loved getting the opportunity to enlighten the 50 or more new professionals in the room about organic land care, the importance of the OLC standards we adhere to and the network of OLCP support they’ve joined.

Site visit to the green roof of the
Philadelphia Electric Company (PECO)

Green professionals receive a foundation when they learn OLC best practices. 

Frank, myself & Chip

NOFA OLC founding Board Member Mike Nadeau of Plantscapes followed me with Site Assessment.  He shared the words of his mentor, “ The greatest pathogen to plants is the landscaper.” Reveared Soil Scientist Dr. Elaine Ingham (a.k.a., the Mother of Compost Tea) was in from the Rodale Institute to impart wisdom on soil fundamentals, biology & health.  She equated nature to a book that we must all learn how to read. “You got a problem, read the book!” She also suggested we OLCP’s,  “sweet talk clients away from turf.” And if we weren’t successful, Mister organic turf himself, Chip Osborne 

followed up to empower us with tools to transition turf to organics.  Chip echoed Dr. Ingham sentiments by stating, “The #1 goal is to improve soil quality.” 

Chip and I thought this
might be an interesting
dining experience

Suzanne Wainwright-Evans (a.k.a. The Bug Lady) shared a wealth of knowledge about our indespensible bretheren of the insect community. I wanted to bale on my mission driven OLC consulting, grant writing and social media marketing practice to be an entomologist!

Glen Abrams from the Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) updated us on the city’s 25 year plan, GREEN CITY, CLEAN WATER, is the most progressive in the nation.  It focuses on protecting their watershed by managing stormwater with innovative green infrastructure. PWD’s sustainability initiative to broaden its green mission as well as comply with stricter environmental laws.  Clean water is no longer about putting water it in a pipe and transporting it to a municipal treatment facility.  Clean water is now about using pervious pavements, plants and soils the way Nature intended; to filter pathogens and clean water right where it lands.

There were other fabulous presentations like Frank Crandall who talked about the right plant right place principal, as well as the business side of things.  I know I’m missing so many others in this post so please forgive me.  You were great! Especially Jenna Messier & Kristiane Huber, for their hard work to make 2013 training in Pennsylvania invaluable for all who participated!

Program Director Jenna Messier and
Course Coordinator Kristiane Huber

Best of luck to new and, dare I say, old AOLCP’s in 2013!  Here’s to a game changing year for us all ;-)

Bernadette

NOFA AOLCP & Founder, Safeground Organic Landcare Consulting

beingiblin@gmail.com 

The Accreditation Course in Pennsylvania

Julie Snell (PHS) teaches about design of a large greenroof
in Philadelphia

The week of January 14-17 was the Accreditation Course in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS).  The course is now in it's 12th year, and what better way to celebrate than heading to a new city and a new region! The classroom was pretty full as land care professionals from Pennsylvania to Kentucky to Alabama to Massachusetts came together to learn about Organic Land Care Practices.  On the first day of the course the staff from Pennsylvania Horticultural Society brought us to a green roof PHS established on the roof of the Pennsylvania Energy Company (PECO) Building.

The class visits the PECO Green Roof - Notice how we are
"Changing The Game"!

A number of NOFA's long time instructors traveled to Pennsylvania to teach about the Standards and provide insight on the history of the Program.  Mike Nadeau of Plantscapes Inc. taught about Site Design, Mulches and Lawn Alternatives. AOLCP and Annual Gathering Speaker, Bernadette Giblin provided the overview of Organic Principles and Practices.  Chip Osborne, founder and owner of Osborne Organics taught the introduction to turf, turf pest management and a new four-hour track about turf care.  Frank Crandall of Frank Crandall's Horticultural Solutions and our Education Committee Chair taught about Planting and Plant Care and how to operate an organic business.

Julie Snell (PHS) introduces Altje Hoekstra to teach about
hydrology

We were delighted to be joined by Dr. Elaine Ingham, Chief Scientist and renowned soil microbiologist at the Rodale Institute to share her expertise on soil fundamentals, soil biology, fertility, compost and compost tea.  We were lucky to be joined by a number of experts from the Philadelphia area including Altje Hoekstra and Michele Adams of Meliora Design, LLC who taught about hydrology and storm water management, Glen Abrams from the Philadelphia Water Department Office of Watersheds,  Scott Guiser from the Penn State Extension to teach about plant disease, Sarah Low from the USDA Forest Service to teach about invasive species and Suzanne Wainright-Evans, owner of Buglady Consulting. 

The class visits Logan Square, designed and maintained by

the  Pennsylvania Horticultural Society

On the last day of the course the group split into two for two separate 4 hour tracks. The first, taught by Chip Osborne was focused on turf care and maintenance and provided a detailed overview of establishing organic turf, fertilizers and amendments  maintenance, and how to create an organic turf management program for a property.  The second track was titled "Planting Considerations and Green Infrstructure in the Urban Environment" focused on planting considerations and green infrastructure.  Chris Woods, the Director of PHS’ Meadowbrook Farm taught about planting and placement of plants in urban areas.  Linda Walczak, a Program Manager at PHS and Michele Adams, Principal Engineer at Meliora Design taught about stormwater management case studies and examples of projects.  Nancy O’Donnell, a Director of Design at PHS led a site visit to Logan Square where PHS staff brought small groups around Logan Square to teach about the sustainable design of this beautiful public space.

A big thanks to all of our instructors, and to the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society Staff who were wonderful hosts, coordinators and instructors for the course! If all of this material looks interesting to you, you can sign up for the Accreditation Course in Connecticut! Even if you have to travel a ways we have a reduced block room rate to hopefully make it more affordable for you, visit www.organiclandcare.net/education/accreditation-course for more information!