Bees, bees everywhere!

by Lynne Walter, Associate Director

It was an early morning in May, and I found myself traveling through the mountains of western North Carolina.  I drove further and further northwest in Madison County, passing through Mars Hill and beyond.  Finally, I arrived.  And there they were: Bees.  Lots and lots of bees.  Behind the electric fence, their hives stretched across a cool, green mountain field, and their low, resonant droning could be heard over the bubbling of the creek and the twittering birdsong.

Jon Christie and assistant, of Wild Mountain Bees, with their bees.

You may be asking yourself, is this the picturesque beginning to the new fictional novel I am writing?  Nope.  Just another day at Toxic Free NC, helping protect pollinators and supporting community gardens!

Back in October 2013, we held our annual Beehive Giveaway, and the winner was Briggs Avenue Community Garden!  But, the bees they won weren't going to be ready until the spring.  The nucleus colony of bees came from the fantastic people at Wild Mountain Bees, whose shop is in Asheville and whose apiary is in northwest North Carolina.

But wait, you may be saying, Toxic Free NC is in Raleigh and Briggs Avenue Community Garden is in Durham.  How did the bees get from one end of the state to the other?

*Enter brave and intrepid Toxic Free staff member*

I was already going to be in western NC, and after many coordinating phone calls and emails by my coworker Ileana, everything was set for the Great Bee Transport of 2014!

Everyone buckled in?  The bees in their transport box.

This involved driving into far northwestern North Carolina to get the bees; running the AC on full blast the entire drive to Durham so the bees wouldn't overheat, get angry, and die; wearing a hoodie sweatshirt as I drove; wearing the hood of the hoodie sweatshirt up on my head as I drove; getting weird looks from the other drivers for wearing my hood up; saying nice and soothing things to the bees during the trip; and turning off the raging AC every now and then to listen for angry buzzing.  Which, luckily, I never heard once.

You know, just buzzing out by the ventilation opening.

And you may be wondering, why would Toxic Free NC embark on this wild road trip adventure?  The answer is: because we care.

We care about protecting our pollinators.  We care about supporting local community gardens.  We care about helping ensure that everyone has access to healthy, pesticide-free food.  And, most of all, we care about keeping all North Carolinians safe from exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides!

And sometimes that means you drive 4 hours down the highway with 25,000 buzzing passengers in your backseat.

The Bees at their new home!

See what the buzz about Toxic Free NC is all about!

Toxic Free NC's "Save a Bee Campaign" is made possible with support from The Burt's Bees Greater Good Foundation.  Want to bee a supporter, too?  Find out how you can help us keep the buzz going for protecting pollinators and organic gardening: http://bit.ly/tfncbuzz

Join us for a Twitter chat on Organic Gardening

by Fawn Pattison, Senior Advocate

I hope you can join us for our first-ever Twitter chat - it's all about Organic Gardening!

We are so excited to be teaming up with our friends at MomsRising for an evening chat all about our favorite activity. Best of all, the featured guest will be Tom Philpott, writer, farmer and food & ag correspondent at Mother Jones magazine. Tom is the cofounder of Maverick Farms, a center for sustainable food education in Valle Crucis, North Carolina.

When: Tuesday April 29
Time: 9 PM EST
Where: On Twitter! Use the hashtag #EcoTipTue to follow the conversation

Whether you're just getting started with gardening, or you're a master gardener, please join us! We'll be talking about:

• tips for getting started with an organic garden
• how to fight pests naturally
• how to make sure your soil and beds are safe
• how to make and use compost in the garden
• ways to get kids involved in your garden

And of course we'll be taking your questions and ogling each other's garden pictures. I hope you can join us. Leave a comment to let us know you're coming!

Duke & UNC vying for Most Toxic Products!

It’s March, and in North Carolina, that means one thing… MARCH MADNESS!!! This March, Toxic Free NC is teaming up with HealthyStuff.org to look into the hazardous chemicals in our favorite University Themed products. We found some pretty nasty stuff in our favorite fan gear from UNC and Duke - that’s why we’re releasing our March Badness report today.

Check out our results and choose who should advance to the Shameful Sixteen. Don’t delay - Duke is on the bubble! The MTP brackets lay out the toxicity rating of common gear fans buy to support their team from t-shirts, lunch bags and foldable chairs to flags and banners. We were disappointed that a lot of the items available at the nations Top Ten Retailers were full of toxics! For example, the Michigan State University Seat Cushion we bought at Kroger, the University of North Carolina Lunch Bag and University of Central Florida Car Mat (both from Walmart) contained both lead and phthalates. We think the only unhealthy things college basketball fans should be exposed to are beer, pizza and Krzyzewskiville.

Yet, this popular college gear contains phthalates banned by Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) and levels of lead that exceed CPSC regulation in children’s products.  The seat cushion you sit on, the jersey you wear and that koozie that keeps your drink cool might contain harmful chemicals that are linked to asthma, birth defects, learning disabilities, reproductive problems, liver toxicity, and cancer.

Many of the chemicals we found in the study contain chemicals of concern identified as Hazardous 100+ chemicals. HealthyStuff.org and our partners in the Mind the Store Campaign are asking the Top Ten Retailers to stop playing dirty by getting toxic chemicals out of the product on their store shelves. Join us in asking them to clean up their act.

If you’re interested in finding out where Duke, UNC and the top teams from around the nation stand in terms of toxic gear, check out HealthyStuff.org’s ranking here.

Here's To a Toxic Free NC In 2014!

by Ileana Rodriguez, Development Director

As 2013 comes to a close, we want to say thank you for supporting our work at Toxic Free NC. You are the reason why we had such an amazing year. Thank you!

Here are some highlights from 2013:

• We traveled throughout North Carolina to train child care providers to use less-toxic pest control, helping to protect hundreds of children from exposure to toxic chemicals. 
• We worked with our national and statewide partners to try and strengthen the Chemical Safety Improvement Act, bipartisan legislation that would reform the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act of 1979.
• In the spring, Anna Jensen joined us as Community Organizer to lead our campaigns with migrant and seasonal farm workers.
• This December, Fawn Pattison moved into a new role as Senior Advocate to strengthen our efforts in advocating for environmental health and justice.
• And we welcomed Levy Schroeder, who as our new Executive Director, will lead the way for us to become an even stronger and more effective organization in 2014 and beyond.

Can we count on you to help us keep growing stronger in 2014? Make a year-end gift to Toxic Free NC today to build a toxic-free future for tomorrow! 

On behalf of all of us, thank you for supporting Toxic Free NC and making our achievements possible. Best wishes for a happy and healthy 2014!

Lead the Way to a Toxic Free Future

by Ileana Rodriguez, Development Director

Reverend Bill Kearney

Toxic Free NC’s recipe for change is all about people power. By building leadership in front-line communities, we hope to make change through the hearts, minds and hands of incredible people like you.

Your year-end donation will help lead the way to a toxic-free future. Make a gift today! 

When you make a gift, it will be put to work helping to grow Toxic Free NC and our Community Leadership Council, a group of leaders from across North Carolina who work together to reduce pesticide pollution and toxic chemicals at home in their communities across the state.

“Toxic Free NC connects me to new resources and new ways of thinking. Becoming part of the leadership at Toxic Free NC made me a stronger leader in my own community.”

Reverend Bill Kearney, Warrenton NC
Toxic Free NC Community Leadership Council, 2010-2012
Board of Directors, 2012-Present

Your gift of $25, $50, $100 - or whatever is meaningful to you - will be put to work supporting grassroots leaders like Bill. Help us keep fighting together to reduce pesticides and toxic chemicals in our environment, our food and our bodies. 

Join Bill and Toxic Free NC in leading the way to a toxic-free future for us and our families. Donate today!

Join Jessica in Supporting Toxic Free NC

by Ileana Rodriguez, Development Director and Jessica Burroughs, Volunteer, Activist, and Toxic Free NC supporter

Meet Jessica Burroughs. She's a mom, activist and supporter of Toxic Free NC. Here's her story about why she supports Toxic Free NC:

When my first son was a year old, I read a newspaper story about three Latina women, all migrant farmworkers, whose children were born with horrific deformities. All three women had been sprayed with pesticides while working on the fields during their pregnancies.

Perhaps because the three children were around my son's age, and perhaps because of the nature of their deformities (one, for example, was born with neither arms nor legs), I couldn't get the story out of my head.

When I learned of a group in NC fighting to stop the spraying of fields during working hours, I became an immediate advocate of Toxic Free NC. When I reached out to Toxic Free NC, staff inspired me to write a letter to the editor about this injustice.

Since that time, Toxic Free NC has raised my awareness about how to protect my family, as much as possible, from toxic chemicals. They have empowered me to ask my children's preschool director to use a non-toxic, integrated pest management system to get rid of bugs. They have shown me how to make my own non-toxic household cleaners, and even invited me and one of my sons to join them in DC to urge Sens. Burr and Hagan to support the Safe Chemicals Act.

Will you join Jessica in standing up to protect our children from the dangers of pesticides and toxic chemicals? Make a gift today so we can keep fighting for a toxic-free future in North Carolina!

To meet our fundraising goal for this year, we need to raise $30,000 by December 31st. We want to raise $5,000 of that goal in the next week.

Your gift of $25, $50, $100 - or whatever is meaningful to you - will be put to work growing grassroots leaders like Jessica who will keep fighting to reduce pesticides and toxic chemicals in our environment, our food and our bodies.

Join Jessica and Toxic Free NC in fighting for a toxic-free future for us and our families. Donate today!

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Throughout this week, join us on Facebook and stay tuned here as we share stories about how you are making it possible for us to grow a more toxic-free future for us and our families.  If you have a story to share, please leave a comment or send us an email - we'd love to hear it!

Toxic Free NC is All About You

by Ileana Rodriguez, Development Director

As the year comes to an end, we're reflecting on our accomplishments and making big plans for the future. Looking back on where we've been in 2013, we know that the main ingredient in our recipe for success is you. 

Toxic Free NC is all about people power. From hands-on organic gardening workshops, citizen lobbying visits and developing leadership in front-line communities, we're making change through the hearts, minds and hands of incredible people like you.

We wouldn't be a strong organization without your support. And we need your support more than ever right now.

To meet our fundraising goal for this year, we need to raise $30,000 by December 31st. We want to raise $5,000 of that goal in the next week.

Make a gift today so we can keep fighting for a toxic-free future in North Carolina! 

Your gift of $25, $50, $100 - or whatever is meaningful to you - will be put to work growing grassroots leaders that power all our work.

Thank you for all that you do to support Toxic Free NC! We're grateful to have your support as we work together to reduce pesticides and toxic chemicals in our environment, our food and our bodies.

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Throughout this week, join us on Facebook and stay tuned to your inbox as we share stories about how you are making it possible for us to grow a more toxic-free future for us and our families.

If you have a story to share, please leave a comment or send us an email - we'd love to hear it!

Organic & Sustainable Christmas Trees and Wreaths: North Carolina 2013 Buying Guide

by Toxic Free NC staff and Margaret Vaughn, volunteer

This holiday season, we hope you'll consider an organic or low-spray Christmas tree or wreath! Check out our updated buying guide to find a pesticide-tree near you.

Buying an sustainably-grown Christmas tree means that you will:

• Protect your family from pesticide residues being brought into your home.
• Keep Christmas tree workers and their families from being exposed to pesticides on the job.
• Support local growers who respect their workers and our environment.

Find out more about the pesticides commonly used on Christmas trees and why you should avoid them.

Toxic Free NC's 2013 Organic & Sustainable Christmas Trees and Wreaths: North Carolina Buying Guide was also recently featured in the news, along with one of the growers on our list, Doug Murphy (of Murphy's Tree Farm and Nursery).

You can also learn about other growers who use sustainable and/or organic practices, such as What Fir Tree Farm in Boone and a host of others!

Nathaniel Maram of What Fir! Tree Farm

Margaret Vaughn has a strong interest in environmental health issues and, in particular, their relationship to the food that we grow, buy, and eat.  She is excited to be back in her home state of North Carolina after completing a graduate degree in public health at New York University.

Expectations Exceeded! Volunteering with Toxic Free NC

by Paul Chang, Outreach Intern with Toxic Free NC

Being surrounded by the fresh atmosphere of the Raleigh Midtown Farmers Market gave me a well-needed rejuvenating burst of energy.  The people, the products, and everything that goes into an active healthy community was present.  I honestly loved every part of it!

Participating as an outreach volunteer at Toxic Free NC gives me a chance to enjoy what I love doing most: building relationships and educating people.  Going in to my first outreach event at the Raleigh Midtown Farmers Market, I didn’t really know what to expect.  I was very curious to see what this outreach would actually look like in action.  But, when we arrived, I was immediately comforted by the calm, yet busy atmosphere of everyone trying to find their fresh veggies early in the morning.  Everyone who was interested in Toxic Free NC who came to our table was super friendly and easy-going.  I came up with the hypothesis that since these people are filled with fresh and/or organic foods in their bodies, their personalities are fresh and organic.  You know what they say, “you are what you eat.”

Laura and Paul volunteering for Toxic Free NC

Educating and interacting with the individuals was my favorite part of the whole day.  We joked, we laughed, and we educated with passion!  I really feel that this outreach program is a truly effective way to get the word out to the community about reducing their exposure to toxic chemicals.  The simplicity of this outreach was the best part! Giving out information, starting conversations about toxic chemical exposure, and just sharing personal experiences about environmental health was amazing.  Also, letting people make their own least-toxic household cleaner through our practical demonstration was some good educational entertainment for me.  To add to this amazing experience, it was “Pie Day” at the Market.  When I heard the news that 11 other tables in the farmers market made pies for people to sample, my day couldn’t have gotten better.  I sampled, I voted, and I was satisfied by the unique flavors of each pie in my stomach.


My experience with this volunteer outreach event exceeded all my expectations in every way!  The atmosphere, the people, the music, the kids, and our educational purpose all intertwined into a day of fresh fun.  Also, having random, yet interesting, conversations with two awesome people from Toxic Free NC throughout the day was a big cherry on top!

More Fresh, Local, and Organic Food on Your Child Care's Menu: Here's How

by Toxic Free NC Staff and Jennifer Li, Children’s Environmental Health Writing Intern

Many families are making local and organic produce a priority these days, and almost everyone needs to increase the fresh foods in their diet. Locally grown produce is the freshest, so it contains more nutrients and it supports local farmers. Why organic? Organic foods are grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified ingredients, synthetic food additives or processing agents, and are environmentally friendly. Research shows that kids who eat a mostly organic diet have much lower levels of potentially harmful pesticides in their bodies.

We interviewed Jan of Country Sunshine Children’s Center, and Shawna of Bright Horizons at Raleigh Corporate Center, both in Raleigh. Their commitment to children’s health is truly inspiring, and the methods they share are feasible and effective. From co-op programs with parents to growing fruits and vegetables in gardens, we hope other childcare centers can use these creative and helpful tips from the pros!

So, how can you get more fresh, local, and organic food onto your child care menu?

Here are 5 tips to get you started:

1. Purchase fresh, local, and organic foods from the Farmers' Market, grocery stores, and food distributors, especially when the vegetables and fruits are in season.

“Anytime we can, we get away from frozen or canned foods and incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables into our menu.” —Jan, Country Sunshine Children’s Center

2. Child care centers can obtain reimbursements for nutritious meals from the Federal Food program.

3. Start a Co-op Program. Country Sunshine uses a “Partnership with Parents” to bring in more fresh foods without driving up costs.

How does it work? 

• 3 times a week, children at the Country Sunshine Children’s Center are provided with fresh, healthy fruit and vegetable snacks from parents. 
• Parents are asked to provide fresh produce for one classroom (about 10-20 kids/class) only once per month.
• Each classroom’s parents are designated a specified amount of a particular fruit or veggie snack for every month. For example, parents may be asked to bring watermelon, apples, lettuce or carrots for the class.

4. Plant a garden at your childcare center.  Children enjoy growing their own fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and flowers to have fun and learn, grow their own snacks, and provide treats for their families to taste.

How does it work?

Seeds are both provided by parents and bought from stores. Children can determine the types of seeds they want to plant.

How can we start doing this?

• Children can start growing seeds from containers to study them and observe how they grow. Some centers choose to hire a landscaper to build the garden space. This can also be done by parent volunteers if there is a plan for the garden. 
• Use plants that are easy to grow from seeds: Sunflowers, basil, cherry tomatoes, pumpkins, carrots, and lettuce.
• More examples of what they have grown: Lemon Cucumbers, Green Beans, Peas, Bell Peppers, Jalapeños, Tomatoes, Watermelons, Basil, Marigolds. 

The garden is a “learning experience, where children learn to take care of living things and have buy-in to the food they eat.” —Shawna, Bright Horizons at the Raleigh Corporate Center.

5. Educate staff, teachers, and parents about your work to provide healthy, organic food to their kids! Both Bright Horizons and Country Sunshine use a regular email newsletter to keep parents updated about menus, volunteer opportunities, and gardening (along with all the other important news from their centers).

You can publish announcements and seek parent support through your child care center newsletter, at parent meetings, etc.

Share information about organic food with parents so they get involved with what you are doing. Eat Local, Eat Pesticide Free! and Organic on a Budget are two great starter fact sheets from Toxic Free NC that can help.

Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Shawna of Bright Horizons at the Raleigh Corporate Center and Jan of Country Sunshine Children’s Center for allowing us to share the great information they provided for this article!

Jennifer Li is passionate about advocating for improved health in communities. After interning at the Museum of Life and Science last summer to promote healthy living, she was excited to build on her experience to make a difference in improving environmental health with Toxic Free NC.

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Did you find this article helpful? Approximately once a month, Toxic Free NC volunteers or staff write a newsletter-ready article, focusing on children's environmental health, that we send to child care centers across North Carolina.



These articles contain helpful tips on ways child care centers, staff, and the children's parents can reduce kids' exposures to toxic chemicals and pesticides...we also think they're great for using in your home, too!  We hope you find the article useful and feel free to share.



If you would like any of the past articles, please email Lynne Walter for copies or to be added to our Child Care News list.  Examples of past articles include:
    •    Having Fun in the Sun: Avoiding Sunburn, Skin Cancer, and Toxic Chemicals, too
    •    Toxic-Free Gardening with Kids: 5 Tips for Gardeners at Home, School, & Child Care on Getting Rid of Bugs Safely
    •    Round Up Your Weeds Without Toxic Chemicals!
    •    Get Pesticides Out of Your Kids' Classrooms: It's Easier than You Think!
    •    Mosquito Management in Child Care

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Text and Photo, Copyright 2013 by Toxic Free NC.  NC Child Care centers have permission to use text and photo for educational purposes with their parents and staff, provided full credit is given to Toxic Free NC.

Friendship Gardens Provides Fresh, Local Food to the Charlotte Community

by Elizabeth Chatfield Vernier, Office Management Intern

It all started with a void in fresh produce. The local meals-on-wheels program in Charlotte, Friendship Trays, had always relied in part on farmers donating fresh produce, but it wasn't enough. Friendship Gardens was created to fill the void by connecting local backyard gardeners with Friendship Trays.

Kathy Metzo, Friendship Gardens' Development Director, explained that Friendship Trays used to rely on "donations from grocery stores, frozen vegetables, and fresh vegetables from out of state".

The small garden they started out with did not come close to providing 750 meals a day, so they branched out and began adopting community gardens. "Our goal was 16 gardens, but we had 36 gardens in 2 years, and now we have at least 55 gardens," Kathy said. Some adopted gardens were already in existence, and some were assisted by Friendship Gardens from the ground up.

Friendship Gardens supports volunteers in their backyard gardening program every step of the way. From providing free seeds, food safety and garden training to providing a space for friendship and sharing information, participating gardeners have the tools to succeed.

The large garden network enables support and resource sharing among gardens. Potluck meals allow volunteers and gardeners to connect with each other in an informal setting. According to Kathy Metzo, structured workshops give novices a baseline, and those who garden by trial and error learn the science behind gardening.

Even though Friendship Gardens is based on giving, its success is likely due in part to recognizing that gardeners must enjoy their own harvest. Their Homegrown program improves food access for residents of Habitat for Humanity homes by setting up small residential gardens. They use hearty plants for the new gardeners. This way, participants quickly see the fruits of their labor so they will continue gardening.

The same principle is applied to the backyard gardeners. Friendship Gardens encourages garden volunteers to keep some of the harvest themselves in addition to donating a portion of it to Friendship Trays.

As Kathy Metzo puts it, "Last summer I sautéed some vegetables [from her own garden] in a pan: tomato, okra, and zucchini, with a little olive oil, and sprinkled on some mozzarella. It's simple. You feel like no matter what you grow, how awful a gardener you are, no matter how awful your harvest is, you're still feeding yourself. Even if you just have two okras, one tomato and a zucchini half eaten by worms, you can put half of the zucchini in the compost and eat the other half."

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Friendship Gardens was a nominee in Toxic Free NC's 1st annual Save a Bee Beehive Giveaway in 2012. With support from The Burt's Bees Greater Good Foundation, we award a beehive and organic gardening support to a NC community garden working on food access issues in our state.

By encouraging organic gardening and promoting pollinator protection we hope to make it possible for community gardens in NC to grow even more healthy, pesticide-free food for their communities.

Find out more about Toxic Free NC's Save a Bee Beehive Giveaway and how you can help protect pollinators and support community gardens near you.

Make an impact – Volunteer at Toxic Free NC!

by Erika Padilla-Morales, Special Projects Volunteer

You can make an impact. You have talents that can be used to make the community better. There is a place for these talents. That’s why you volunteer.

I found Toxic Free NC in April 2013. My home is in Oakland, California, one of the greenest cities in America. Bike lanes and farmer’s markets flourish among its linguistic and cultural diversity. When I moved to Raleigh with my bicycle to the Brentwood neighborhood, I was reminded that not every community benefits from curbside compost and ingrained environmental values. Brentwood is built along the Capital Boulevard Corridor where there are miles upon miles of chain and fast food restaurants and fresh organic produce is anathema.

Doing a search on the internet led me to Toxic Free NC. In addition to completing coursework this semester, I wanted to investigate and support organizations that focused on economic and environmental justice. The crawling ladybug on the website drew me in. After reviewing their focus, I wanted to contribute in some way. I felt most confident to offer support with activism, outreach, office work, office management, blogging, or researching and writing. Immediately after applying I received an email  and connected with Fawn Pattison, the Executive Director and Lynne Walter, the Associate Director for an interview. The morning of my interview was rainy. The seven mile bike ride to the office took a little longer than I anticipated. Fawn and Lynne welcomed me with a cup of tea before we discussed how I could best contribute my skills in the time I would be in Raleigh. We had a great conversation and I was excited when Fawn indicated there was a specific project I could help on!

Toxic Free NC is about connecting with community. They were working on outreach to organizations in the surrounding counties and share programming to build awareness around making your home toxic-free, green cleaning, safer pest control and, organic gardening. I would take a list that had been researched and validate the data as well as reach out to other area organizations we can partner with. In doing this project, I gained insight into the types of organizations that exist in North Carolina doing community outreach and education work. I also was in the office for a key moment in the campaign for the Toxic Free Kids Act of 2013, legislation that Toxic Free NC was advocating. The excitement in the office was palpable! And I was really grateful to get a hear from Fawn that my work was part of a grant proposal Toxic Free NC submitted to do more outreach work. My work mattered.

Toxic Free NC is a small outfit. It employs 5 people and inspires and mobilizes dozens of interns and volunteers to carry out its work. If you look to the upper left-hand shelf as you walk into the office, you will see a box labeled, “seed bombs.” I am reminded of the power of a seed. Most of the trees and plants we have around us began as almost impossibly small seeds. Over time they broke ground, branched up, and have become organisms that breathe out our oxygen, provide us food and shade. Toxic Free NC plants seeds to community improvement through legislation and grassroots outreach. It has its sights on the bigger picture without losing sight of the day-to-day impact on our communities. Toxic Free NC wants every community in North Carolina to be toxic free.

It’s been an honor to serve as a volunteer here this semester and have a taste of the quiet power that can be wielded by a small team, and feel the infectious excitement when one’s efforts are taken notice by the powers-we-put-in-place to benefit our communities. You can make the same the same impact. You are powerful.

We all find ourselves once in a while with time to offer. Consider how you can share yours and what impact your work can have on the community and the world.

post-script:

Erika recently completed her spring/summer project and has just moved back to Oakland to finish her degree program. We want to thank her for her incredible work and her wonderful presence in our office!

Youth taking action: We’ve done our part, now do yours EPA!

by Lynne Walter, Associate Director

On May 21, 2013, my co-worker Anna and I had the opportunity to speak with all of the 9^th graders at Carolina Friends School in Durham, NC, about migrant farmworkers, their exposures to pesticides, and youth migrant farmworkers working in the fields … and as someone who went to a Quaker college, it was really fantastic interacting with these young Friends school students!

After we all watched and talked about the documentary "Overworked and UnderSpray: Young Farm Workers' Pesticide Stories", the students wrote some really incredible letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ask the EPA to release the Worker Protection Standard (WPS), the federal rules that are designed to protect workers from pesticides on the job (FYI—the WPS dictates what employers need to tell workers about the pesticides they’re using, when safety equipment should be provided, and how to handle exposures when they happen).

The release of the new WPS has been substantially delayed, and the Carolina Friends School students wrote letters asking the EPA to end the WPS release delay, why this was important to them, and why they felt farmworkers should be safe from pesticide exposures.

One of my favorite parts of one of the letters was: “I’ve done my part, Mr. Jones [writing the letter]. Now the EPA must do theirs."

These forty-two 9^th graders and their three teachers were getting ready for a service learning trip to the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry in Newton Grove, NC, the following week. We talked about what Toxic Free NC does and the risks farmworkers face from pesticides, particularly the risks and challenges young migrant farmworkers in North Carolina experience.

The Carolina Friends School students had very thoughtful questions and comments about the challenges farmworkers, especially young farmworkers, face regarding pesticide exposure in the fields, and wrote amazing letters to the EPA. I really enjoyed seeing another generation get even more involved in farmworker advocacy!

Our secret weapon: MomPower

By Fawn Pattison, Mom of Two

Your mama's so awesome that she can keep a toddler happy and talk to her Senator at the same time! That's why we got together with our friends at MomsRising to make this hilarious MomDance video just for the amazing moms in our lives.

Seriously, we have learned over the years that it's women who are leading the charge to protect our health and environment. And the ladies right up front holding the banner (and the hands of small children) are moms. Whether we're collaborating with a food pantry on an organic gardening workshop, or up in Washington DC meeting with our US Senators about toxics reform, we have found that moms are the toxic-free mover-shakers who are building a safer and healthier future for all of us.

Right here at Toxic Free NC, moms proliferate on our staff, our Board of Directors and Community Leadership Council. We have so many ladies in charge around here that back in 2008 when we changed our organization's name to Toxic Free NC, one of the joke names we kicked around was WAP! - Women Against Pesticides! It's a great name and a non-toxic pest control method at the same time: WAP!  (Mamas Against Pesticides was really cool too, but you have to roll up a MAP to squish unwanted pests).

That's why on Mother's Day this year, we teamed up with our favorite mom activists, MomsRising, to thank all the moms of Toxic Free NC for all they do to make the world a better place. Check it out! And send it on to your favorite moms to thank them for being so inspiring!

April is Organic Gardening Month!

Hooray, spring is finally here! Every April, Toxic Free NC celebrates the return of warm weather and garden fun with Organic Gardening Month. We're here to help you improve your backyard or community garden, protect pollinators, and enjoy more delicious, organic foods with your family.

All month long we'll be promoting our hands-on resources, including in-depth fact sheets on organic garden pest control for common NC pests, educational gardening videos and additional garden tips and seed giveaways throughout the month.

Pesticides can be dangerous for gardeners, children and animals, and can also kill off the "good bugs" like bees and butterflies that we all want to find in our gardens. But many gardeners think they’re a necessary evil. We’re putting out this info at the start of the season to give gardeners the tools they need to reduce their use of pesticides, or stop using them altogether.

In 2012, Toxic Free NC published ten brand new, in-depth fact sheets on organic pest control for several common pests found in gardens in NC. The fact sheets include safer pest control advice for:  aphids, cabbage loopers, cabbage worms, Colorado potato beetles, cutworms, Harlequin bugs, Japanese beetles, June bugs, slugs, snails, squash bugs, squash vine borers and tomato hornworms.

Through the month of April, Toxic Free NC will share organic gardening tips, post educational videos and give away seeds on its Facebook and YouTube pages and via Twitter here:  @Fawn_ToxicFree, @ToxicFreeNC.

Want to learn more about organic gardening strategies? Toxic Free NC is available to provide hands-on workshops for community gardens! Please contact Lynne Walter at 919-833-1123 or lynne@toxicfreenc.org to schedule a workshop.

Sustainability at Toxic Free NC

by Fawn Pattison, Executive Director

At our office, we try to be as green as we can. We use only recycled paper, we have a local purchasing policy, we recycle everything we can, and recently we even bought non-toxic dry erase markers. But why stop there?

This week at staff meeting we decided to start up a new Sustainability Initiative. Each quarter, we'll choose a new step to reduce our carbon footprint, toxics exposure and/or cost efficiency. One staff member will captain each quarter's project and see it through.

This quarter's project: Ditching paper towels. We're going to get a little laundry system going so that we can have washable hand towels, cleaning rags and cloth napkins.

Next quarter will be composting. Stay tuned to find out how it goes!

Want to start a Sustainability Team at your workplace? It's fun and easy! Check out Duke University's guide to starting a Green Team in your office for tips and ideas.

Need some new ideas for your office Green Team? Get inspired by the City of Portland (OR)'s Green Team Guide!

Organic Gardening from Scratch

by Fawn Pattison

It's almost spring in North Carolina, and garden catalogs are filling up the mailbox. Are you thinking of starting a new garden? Or perhaps expanding the one you've got? 

A lot of folks are also looking for ways to cut costs these days, and what better way to save money and enjoy the weather than by starting your own garden! Growing your own food means that you are eating the freshest, most local produce possible. Plus, you get the satisfaction of knowing exactly what chemicals aren’t in your food!

Here are a few tips for starting a new garden from Toxic Free NC and Tom Mekus, owner of Native Elements Landscaping in Raleigh.

My favorite moments of 2010

Looking back at a great year, I can't help reflecting on how much I love being a part of this organization and working with the fantastic supporters who make us what we are.

These were some of the highlights of 2010 for me:

• Getting to be color commentator with our emcee Ryan Parker at the Love Bug 2010. 500 people came to cheer on dozens of local artists as they drew bugs all night!
  
  
• Hearing from child care centers around the state that they want to detox their centers. My co-workers Billie and Ana trained over 300 child care professionals this year!


• Meeting with Congressman G.K. Butterfield, who is now a co-sponsor of the Toxic Chemical Safety Act. You’ll be hearing lots more from us about this ground-breaking federal legislation in the coming months.
  


• Sitting down to lunch with farm workers, the press and supporters as we launched the Harvest of Dignity campaignwith our friends at Farmworker Advocacy Network.
  


• Getting to know the tight-knit group of “Women without Borders,” the farmworker women who are organizing a community garden in eastern North Carolina.
  


• Working with our 106 fantastic volunteers, like superstar Laura Valencia. Our wonderful volunteers put in over 2,200 hours of service to Toxic Free NC this year!

I can’t wait to see what 2011 will bring, and I’m so grateful for all the great supporters who are on board with us for it. Here’s to a bright new year!

Toxic Free NC Teaming up with Locopops for Labor Day Fiesta!

Raleigh, NC - Toxic Free North Carolina will be the special guest at Locopops' Fifth Anniversary Party on September 6th from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the Raleigh store on Hillsborough St. The Raleigh celebration is one of three being held simultaneously at Locopops stores around the Triangle.

Raleigh neighbors will be stopping by between cookouts and pool parties to enjoy a Locopop and learn about Toxic Free NC's work fighting pesticide pollution in North Carolina. All of the proceeds from the event will go to benefit Toxic Free NC, North Carolina's only organization working to put people before pesticides!

When: Monday, September 6th, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

What: A PARTY to celebrate Locopops' 5th year in business!

Where: Locopops, 1908 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC

Who: Hosted by Locopops Head Chef Timothy Fletcher and Toxic Free NC

About Toxic Free NC:

Toxic pesticides are over-used in North Carolina and around the world, polluting the food we eat, the water water we drink, and ultimately, our bodies. Toxic Free NC fights pesticide pollution in North Carolina by advocating for common-sense alternatives that protect our health and environment.

Toxic Free NC’s one simple goal is to get rid of pesticide pollution in our water, our food and our bodies.
We work together with those who care about the environment and our health to make our communities safer. You can find more information about our programs, including Toxic Free Kids and Just and Sustainable Agriculture, at www.toxicfreenc.org or by calling 1-877-NO-SPRAY.

About Locopops:

When Locopops opened its doors in May of 2005 in Durham, the customers who first happened in were from the bordering neighborhoods. Locopops quickly became a part of the community in a way we hadn’t anticipated - putting a whole new spin on how we thought about our business and what we wanted to accomplish. The community is good to us, so we strive to be good to the community. We actively support community groups, PTA’s, student groups, animal shelters and other non-profits through fundraising activities, donations, and public art space. Learn more at: www.ilovelocopops.com.

Get you some bug art

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the Love Bug art show & benefit for Toxic Free NC, and to all the volunteers, artists and sponsors who made it AWESOME!

If you missed the show, or went home without some wonderful new bug art tucked under your arm, here's your chance! There's still Love Bug art for sale through the month of August. View the galleries here, or stop on by Epona and Oak before August is out to view these pieces in person.

We are also auctioning off the three remaining pieces from the finalist round! Check them out below, make a bid, and thanks for supporting us - all proceeds go to Toxic Free NC's work fighting pesticide pollution in NC.



"Caterpillar Party," by Paul Dumlao
8.5x11, ink on paper
Bid on this drawing











"Butterfly Queen of Hearts," by Pete Sack
8x10, ink and watercolor on paper
Bid on this drawing


















"PBR Bug Party," by Bart Cusick
8x10, ink on paper
Bid on this drawing