Opportunity for film buffs:
Don’t Spray Me and Sierra Club Sustainability Committee are working with West Chester University to create an environmental film series to be rolled out this fall.
If you are interested in film and would like to join the group, please contact Margaret Hudgings, mhudgings@gmail.com.
If you spot a pile of tires exposed to precipitation, please let us know. Tires, whether old or new, are mosquitoes’ best breeding territory, because they warm up in the sun and hold water long-term invisible to human eyes. N.b. in West Chester, tires should be stored inside, not outside.
Excerpt from “What Tire Pile Owners Should Know About West Nile Virus” download at PA DEP:
Could a tire pile be a mosquito-breeding site?
Tire piles could provide suitable areas for mosquitoes to live, including those known to carry WNV. When discarded tires are allowed to accumulate even a small amount of water, they become attractive sites for mosquitoes to lay their eggs. For example, during the course of one season, thousands of mosquitoes can emerge from just one tire. If tires infested with mosquito eggs, larvae or pupae are transported, the potential to spread mosquito populations increases. This is one of the theories on how WNV was introduced into the United States.
How can a property owner prevent mosquito breeding?
It is the responsibility of the tire pile owners to make sure that the pile does not create a nuisance or health hazard. There are a number of ways to eliminate mosquito production in tire piles.
Standing water in the tires should be eliminated. This can be accomplished by properly storing tires under a tarp or other cover, removing the side wall, or drilling holes in the back of the tire.
In situations where eliminating mosquito production areas is not a practical alternative, larviciding is the most effective control technique….
read the full download here: Tire piles 3800-FS-DEP2535
The reception is adjacent to the meeting house and is air conditioned. There will be signs to direct traffic and attendants to assist with parking. There will be parking right in front of the meeting house for those that have mobility issues.
You can view this link for campus map and parking info.
See more about Graham here.
OREGON: The election results from Lincoln County, OR, are in: Lincoln residents adopted the first-in-the nation countywide Freedom from Aerial Sprayed Pesticides ordinance by 61 votes. Lincoln residents are the first in Oregon to secure people’s environmental and democratic rights, challenging the claimed “rights” of corporations. They are also the first to secure the rights of nature to exist and flourish, joining a growing number of communities across the U.S. and globally who are recognizing ecosystem rights. Measure 21-177 bans aerial sprayed pesticides as a violation of those rights.
The measure was ahead by 27 votes in the ballot count on election night (May 16th). However, there were 100 unsigned ballots that could still be counted towards the total. Those voters had until May 30th to sign their ballots, which were then added to the final count and secured the win.
Lincoln County residents have faced decades of toxic aerial pesticide spraying by the industrial timber industry. Timber corporations repeatedly aerial spray toxic pesticides on clearcuts to kill off “competing” vegetation and animals that threaten newly planted and young commodity crop trees. Residents have been working with the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) since 2013 to protect themselves from the dangerous practice. …
read more at CELDF
Thank you to all who were able to come to the Don’t Spray Me & Sierra Club picnic & celebration in Everhart Park on Sunday May 28. Defending our environment and health is not all work! We are expanding our network of conscientious citizens and have been reaching out effectively beyond West Chester Borough.
Here are a few photos of the event.
Decorated bicycles:
Mosquito-repelling plants, courtesy of master gardener Halyna Church:
Jim Wylie prepares participants for a “Clean Energy for All” photo promoting Sierra Club‘s “Ready for 100” initiative:
Clean Energy for All:
dontsprayme 