EDITORIAL: School pesticide ban makes fields safer for kids

Gov. David A. Paterson has taken a big step toward making school playing fields safer for our children. He's signed a bill that bans the use of chemical pesticides on those fields. Now the schools have to get ready to make it work.

There's plenty of science showing the dangers that pesticides pose for kids, but industry still wants to sell the stuff. Despite the inevitable pushback, Assemb. Steven Englebright (D-Setauket) and Sen. Brian X. Foley (D-Blue Point) got the bill passed. As of next spring, it will be against the law to use the chemicals just to make school fields look like golf courses.

It takes a couple of years to make the transition from chemicals to organically tended grass. But it's really not that hard. For seven years, the Jericho school district has been caring for its fields organically without a legal mandate, because Tim Almeida, who runs buildings and grounds there, is a fervent believer. He also wrote bid specifications that districts have begun to use to hire firms to provide organic care.

The law can help create a market for landscapers willing to do that work. Grassroots Environmental Education of Port Washington, which provided legislators the science behind it, is volunteering to train those ready to go the organic way.

As more companies go organic to meet the law's mandate, more homeowners will find good firms to help do the same for their lawns. It's a case of a law sending a signal to the market - with a result that's safer for our kids. hN