Nature is thanking City Hall for a recent course correction that will help Edmonton enhance biodiversity and tackle climate change. They voted on two major issues, with significant leaning towards pesticide usage reduction. Edmonton council just voted to stop the using helicopters to kill mosquito larva. The vote was 9-4. Even more significantly Council voted to support moving ahead with a cosmetic pesticide ban on public and private property. The vote was 12 – 1.
The exact wording was that “Administration prepare a report outlining steps towards a 2023 elimination of cosmetic pesticide use on public and private properties, including required changes to the Integrated Pest Management Policy C510A as a result. This report should include:
- Potential new and/or changes to existing bylaws, regulations and policies,
- Community outreach, public education, operational and enforcement resources needed to support program implementation and promote compliance; and
- Draft implementation plan that outlines a phased approach, resources required, and associated budget.
- The draft plan needs to aligns with naturalization work currently underway, is based on limited use of pesticides and optimizes the integration of other ecosystem requirements.
There are still details to be worked out, but if a new bylaw is implemented, the river valley may even start to see more bird life! In fact, we just heard the birding community is now proceeding with a nomination of Edmonton as a bird friendly city. This news leaves us hopeful for Edmonton’s environmental future as we continue to move into the future.