Hinsdale’s second pesticide-free park could be at Eleanor’s Park, a small green space next to the Hinsdale Historical Museum.
Designating another park as one in which chemicals are not used to kill pests is a goal cited in the annual Integrated Pest Management report that was presented this week at the environment and public services committee meeting.
The village also is working toward not using pesticides in any public lawns or parks because they have been implicated in cancers and neurological problems, said village forester Dan Hopkins, who prepared the report.
The village’s first and only pesticide-free park is Melin Park located on the southwest side. It has been pesticide-free since 2009.
In the mid-1990s the village adopted a policy of seeking to minimize reliance on chemical pesticides and to use as much as possible alternative methods of killing weeds and enhancing turf growth. The village is required to put together a report annually of their progress in this area.
The nearly 100-page report covers many aspects of how the village is trying to maintain green spaces without using chemicals to control weeds and other pests.
To increase turf growth at parks, Hopkins said the village spread 1,400 pounds of grass seed in 2011. He said they want to continue to enhance turf growth by aeration, soil testing to indicate what fertilizers are needed, expand the use of natural pesticides and of organic fertilizers.
Other activities completed by the village include installation of a new drainage system at Veeck Park and completion of soil tests at Highland, Stough and Brush Hill parks. It was discovered that phosphorus levels were low enough in these parks that they could use a phosphorus-free fertilizer in 2011. Phosphorus run-off in streams and rivers can lead to excessive algae growth, which can damage the bodies of water.
Hopkins said the village has 150 acres of public lawns and parks. Forty five of those acres were treated with pesticides in 2011.
“I think that 45 acres of pesticides was way too much for this village,” said resident Ruda Jensen at the committee meeting.
Hopkins noted, however, that 30 of those treated acres were at one park, Katherine Legge Memorial Park. He said use of pesticides varies according to conditions and it has been as low as 24 acres.
In 1991, Jensen and two other residents filed complaints with the Illinois Department of Human Rights against the village, alleging discrimination against those who are physically sensitive to chemicals after the village hired a lawn-care company to apply herbicides to the public lawns and parks.
Eleanor’s Park could be designated as pesticide-free by this spring, Hopkins said.
“I’m glad to hear we’re talking about more pesticide-free parks,” Jensen said. “That would be really great.”
