Rural Ontario’s school grounds will finally have their time in the spotlight, thanks to a new University of Guelph-based project.
In 2009, Ontario banned the use of cosmetic pesticides, which has meant big changes in the way groundskeepers can manage school and municipal Sports fields.
Public outreach has focused on the impact of the ban on residential lawns and urban Sports fields. Now, the Turfgrass Outreach Project (TOP) focuses on support to rural turfgrass managers across southern Ontario, providing them with workshops, training programs and an online knowledge centre to help schools and organizations maintain safe and high quality Sports fields without the use of pesticides.
“While urban areas have often had municipal bans in place for a while, in many cases rural communities have had to adapt very quickly to managing turf without cosmetic pesticides, and the education and outreach to deal with that just isn’t in place in rural communities like it has been in urban centres,” said Dr. Eric Lyons, TOP project manager.
TOP pulls expertise from the Guelph Turfgrass Institute, the University’s Ontario Agricultural College, and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) to create accessible educational opportunities for rural turfgrass managers.
The project also hopes to foster stronger networks for continuing education on sustainable resource management for rural groundskeepers.
For more information about the Turfgrass Outreach Project or to become a supporter visit uoguelph.ca/turfgrassoutreach.
