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Residents ‘GROUP‘ aims to stomp out urban pesticide use n the world of lawn and garden Icurc‘ poison and growth seem to go hand in hand. To many homeowners, the quickest way to mature exterior plantlife is to douse it in pesticides. While the results may be pleasâ€" ing to the eyes, the effects these chemical concoctions have on the lives around them can be potenâ€" tially dangerous, and even fatal. A small band of residents from both Kitchener and Waterloo have revived the organization known as GROUP, which stands for Get Rid of Urban Pesticides, to fight this mounting health hazard. In partnership with the federal Ministry of the Environment, the Waterloo Regional Community Health department, and the Cities of Kitchener and Waterloo, the group is working to promote natâ€" ural, nonâ€"toxic lawn and garden care by showing homeowners environmentallyâ€"friendly methods of maintaining desirable greenâ€" space. Over the nexttwo years, GROUP will select 24 homes â€" 12 this year and 12 next year â€" throughout the twin cities where the owners have been past pestiâ€" cide users. For a project fee of $250 and commitment from the homeownâ€" ers that their days of using chemiâ€" cal sprays are over, the group will provide key information on alterâ€" native lawn and garden care, as HDECOIATING Dr. David Rainham â€" Medical Consultant Optimum Health Centre YTREYYCD out!! Stress Management Weight Loss Quitting Smoking Chronic Pain Insomnia Free Initial Consultation By Anorea Baicey ('hro:m'lg{ Staff â€" services covered by many Healith Plans You‘re not alone! 571â€"7904 lhise y + 1 *â€"â€"wa well as master gardeners and landscape professionals who will help give each lawn an environâ€" mental facelift, complete with new flowers and shrubbery. "We want people to start thinkâ€" ing of their lawns as larger ecosysâ€" tems," said Susan Koswan, who, along with Lori Strothard of Waterloo, has coordineted the program. "Grass is not a carpet or an extension of a person‘s personâ€" al living space. "But people have to know what they can do for their lawns withâ€" out using pesticides. They are very hungry for alternatives." Basic care methods for a lowâ€" maintenance lawn include mowâ€" ing grass at the lawnmower‘s high â€" est cutting level, leaving clippings on the lawn, overseeding a topâ€" dressing in the fall, and mulching dry leaves with a awnmower in the fall. Highâ€"maintenance lawns require a homeowner to test the soil for proper PH and organize matter, apply corn gluten meal in the spring, water deeply, aerate. fertilize in the fall, and tolerate a few weeds, or pull them by hand. "You can‘t blame people who want to have a nice lawn," said Strothard. "But there needs to be research and development put into safer products. "Some of the products used today were approved back in the 1960s, and they haven‘t really been looked at again." And since that time, she said, a number of illnesses have been @essZ Food Allergy Specialists Inâ€"stere bakery with wheatâ€"free and olutexâ€"free baked goods Herbs and vitamins Loametics & essential sits Tel: 578â€"8507 linda barton@sympatico ca 273 Weber St. N. Waterloc FIGHTING FAT AFTER 30? Create a plan that works LIFESTYLE The Natural Food Market Linda Earten us w tron & L festy‘e Coaching Susan Koswan {left) and Lori Strothard, coordinators of GROUP, Get Rid of Urban Pesticides, spent part of Friday morning analyzing the garden of a former pesticide user. The organization will begin restoring the garden using alternatives to chemical gardening sprays in May. anoRta sarey rioto linked to the use of some pestiâ€" cides, including Parkinson‘s disâ€" ease, nonâ€"Hodgkins lymphoma, damage to the reproductive sysâ€" tem and asthma. > "I‘ve heard too many stories of people suffering over the years," Strothard said. "Is it fair that someone can spray their lawn for their own enjoyment, meanwhile some child is up all night not able to catch its breath? "Some chemicals we don‘t have a choice about; but this is one that‘s optional." By utilizing the GROUP proâ€" gram, she added, consumers can gain a healthy lawn, and rest assured their children, pets and Canadians are eating more ‘resh fruits and vegetables than ever betore â€" and for good reason. Fresh truits and vegetables are great sources of vitamins A and C and of potassium and tiber. They‘re virtually fatâ€"free and very low in calaries and sadium Health experts believe that eating more iruits and vegetables as part of a balanced diet may reduce the risk of cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society. Canadian Heart Foundation and Health and Welfare Canada recommend that Canadians eat more of these highâ€"liber fatâ€"free foods. Professional Nursing * Inâ€"Home, Hospital or Care Facility * Acquired Brain Injury Care Teams + Pre & Post Surgical Care * Foot Care * and more! "Where Peace Of Mind Has A Home Address" Faesn Fruirs & Vecctasiss: Emsoy Tnem Fon Goon Hearurn Professional Nursing & Home Slglpofl "From One Hour To Around The Clock" Es wecare Home Health Services selves are not being exposed to harmful substances. Realizing that some homeownâ€" ers may want to make a change, but are opposed to outside help, Koswan said there are Ecoâ€"Lawn doâ€"itâ€"yourself starter kits available at both the Kitchener and Waterloo Home Depot stores. With proof of purchase, the first 200 shoppers to buy a kit will receive a $23 rebate from GROUP. There will also be a garden tour at the end of June of the 12 homes selected for restoration this year to give people a closer look at what the program is aiming to accomâ€" plish. _ For more information on the program, call Koswan at 578â€"8508. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) _ in _ the â€" United _ States recommends that consumers eat five or six servings a day of fresh fruits and vegetables, along with other beneficial taods to reduce their cancer risks. It also declared that "na adverse effects" to health will result from eating fresh fruits and vegetables that contain pesticide residues Common sense practices can improve the cleanliness of fresh fruits and vegetables. Wash produce under clean, running tap water | before serving. Throw away outer leaves of 885â€"4955 liun~â€"rk»‘â€"1 v wI o Ask for details WATERLOO NORTH Northfield at the Parkway Elisabeth Betker, M./. (Germany D H.M.S.. Homeopathic Doctor Cunous about Homeopathy and Holisuc Complementary medicine? CALL TODAY FOR A FREE INFORMATION SESSION 0% HOMEOPATHY & HOLISTIC HEALTH CLINIC OF WATERLOO Thc Movie Mania Spring Promenade Fashion Show will be held April 18 at 7:30 p.m. at Bingeman Park in the ballroom. The event to raise funds for Hospice of Waterloo Region will feature fashions from a variety of stores including Adventure Guide, Chez â€" Jacqueline, Erban Corner, Ellie‘s Fashions & Gifts, _ Fitness â€" Classics, Jender _ Fine â€" Clothing, Nantucket, Sampson‘s Clothing â€" Ltd., _ Spanner Imports, So... Boutique and Sun Valley Kids. Fashion show aids Hospice Tickets are $20. For information, call 743â€"4114. Westvale public school will hold a silent and live auction May 4 in supâ€" port of the Westvale arts education fund. Auction _ items _ will include a signed Steve Yzerman jersey, a youth mountain bike, a Mennonite quilt, a grandâ€" mother clock, gift certifiâ€" cates and more. vegetables such as lettuce and cabbage Prel truits and vegetables when appropriate. Scrub certain hearty vegetables, like patatoes and carrots. it you plan to eat the fiber and nutritionâ€" rich skin So enfoy our bountiful suppty of fresh fruits and vegetables. They‘re produced with pride Purchases can be made with only cash and Interac Debit. Admission is $2 at the door. For more information call 746â€"6724. Westvale school to host auction FINANCING 112 Albert St. W‘loo www waterloomazda com Canadian Produce Marketing Association in Waterloo 746â€"1666