Snohomish: Lya Badgley and Lea Anne Burke

Lya (fourth from right) is a city council member in the City of Snohomish, and was the lead advocate for the adoption of their very progressive IPM policy. She also created their Adopt-a-Park program, where volunteers work in the parks to help keep them pesticide-free, and Lea Anne (fifth from right) is a local parent that helped advocate for the city policy and has been very involved in the adopt-a-park program as well. Lya and Lea Anne are also beginning to work with the schools on a good IPM policy and have helped start a Parks Foundation for Snohomish, including bringing more native plants into the parks.

EJ Hook and Liesl Zappler

EJ and Liesl (in photo) are both wonderful IPM experts here in Seattle. EJ heads the Woodland Park Zoo grounds and facilities department and runs an IPM consulting business. Liesl is a gardener with the Seattle School District and is very active with Seattle Tilth and speaking on organic gardening. Both EJ and Liesl sat on the committee that drafted the new IPM policy for the Seattle schools, and are both helping lead a parents group in the Bellevue schools that’s working on getting a better IPM policy there as well. We are incredibly lucky to have both EJ and Liesl working professionally and voluntarily for healthy schools in WA. We need active and involved IPM experts like these two to make sure policies are more than just pieces of paper.

Portage Bay Coalition for Clean Water

(L-R) Diana Forman, Penny Lewis, Betty Swift and Molly Bailey have worked incredibly hard over the past 4 years to fight the use of aquatic pesticides by the yacht clubs in Portage Bay. They succeeded in stopping the applications two years, and have hosted educational events on non-toxic aquatic vegetation control for their neighbors, got a grant from King County to promote mechanical weed control, and have gotten businesses, community organizations, and elected officials to pressure the yacht clubs to stop using pesticides in the bay. They are also all members of WTC and are active in a number of other causes and organizations.

No Spray Zone Ballard

This community group has fought the gypsy moth aerial spray in Ballard/Magnolia. They continue to monitor efforts and support other communities where gypsy moth sprays occur. Also engaged in our sustainable agriculture work. President Claude Ginsburg is in the lower photo, being interviewed by the press at a rally.

Widbey/Camano Island No-Spray Coalition

WINS and Clallam County No-Spray are two local groups that worked for several years to draw attention to the high use of pesticides used along our highways by the Washington State Department of Transportation. With a huge spread in the  P-I, meetings with WSDOT’s Secretary and upper management, and huge local meetings calling for no-spray roads, they succeeded in getting WSDOT to reduce their use of herbicides for the first time in 12 years. WINS also organized the grassroots campaign to get Island County to stop spraying their roadsides,  making them the 6th county in the state to go no-spray. WINS has also worked to get local schools and ports to go pesticide-free. (L-R) Linda Lindsay, Mark Wahl, Nancy Schaaf, WTC’s Angela Storey, Dept. of Transportation Director Doug McDonald, Marianne Edain, and Laurie Keith.

John Roberts

John Roberts (at far right, with a class of MHE students) has probably done more than anyone else in the world to protect children from toxic chemicals in house dust. A former environmental engineer with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, he is now proprietor of Engineering Plus. John has contributed significantly to the scientific literature on the makeup and toxicity of dust. He developed a device to sample dust in a scientifically valid way, and he has worked tirelessly to develop practical advice to keep dust out of homes and to remove dust from carpets. John conceived and nurtured the Master Home Environmentalist Program, now based at the American Lung Association of Washington and spreading across the country.

Trudy Bialic
 
Anyone who has met Trudy knows that she is passionate not only about toxics reform, but also about educating our communities to make good choices in how we live. As the Public Affairs Manager for PCC Natural Markets and editor of their newsletter, Trudy has done amazing work opposing genetically-engineered food and supporting sustainable agriculture, including working to get an organic farming program started at WSU. Trudy was pivotal in convincing the Lynnwood City Council to adopt a policy that reduced pesticide use in parks and has also worked with local schools on pesticide reduction. Trudy has also been appointed to the state Pesticide Advisory Board.

Seattle University

Seattle University is a clear leader in the Northwest in maintaining gorgeous, pesticide-free landscapes. As the SU website notes: “A shift to sustainable landscape practices began in 1979 with the adoption of an Integrated Pest Management program. Seattle University differs from most other campuses by rejecting the notion that pesticide application is a viable last resort. The Grounds Department has focused on organic solutions and has successfully maintained the campus since 1986 without the use of pesticides and has accomplished this by adopting a combination of practices that nurture the soil instead of focusing on individual plant needs.” The work on their own campus as well as their support and outreach to other universities, communities, and schools looking to reduce pesticide use, makes them an obvious choice for WTC’s Hall of Fame. Pictured, L-R front: Moses Kinayia, Cynthia Durfee, Whitney Persek, Janice Murphey, Patty Wright; Back, L-R: Peter Larson, Lynn (Scooter) Schultz, Craig Chatburn, Anna Peroutka, David (D.C.) Clausen, and Sara Jo Linden.

Dale Spoor and Maria Mason

Maria (second from left) and Dale (far right) are fabulous, die-hard activists on Bainbridge Island. In the mid-90s, they worked with the school district to get one of the first IPM policies in the state adopted, and then a few years later worked to update it to include a ban on the use of high hazard pesticides. BISD’s policy and practices are still models here and nationwide. Dale and Maria then went on to work with the city to adopt the strongest IPM city policy in the state, and also advocated for pesticide reduction along state highways on the island. Just this spring, they also succeeded in getting the Bainbridge Parks District to adopt an updated IPM policy as well, and are next taking on the world!

Barbara Engelstein

WTC is sad to announce the passing of Barbara Engelstein last year. Barbara was one of the most dedicated members of WTC for well over a decade. Barbara lived on Mercer Island and was a deeply dedicated activist. One of Barbara’s passions was organic gardening, and she proudly showed off her Pesticide Free Zone sign. She spoke to people throughout the Puget Sound region about the importance of reducing our use of pesticides and about the beauty and wonders of gardening. Her enthusiasm was infectious.

Barbara was a former WTC board member and an incredibly generous donor along with her husband, Jacob Engelstein. We thank Barbara and her family for all that they did to support WTC. Barbara was an inspiration. She will be sorely missed.

Healthy Olympia Taskforce

Not only is the Healthy Olympia Taskforce an active and powerful community group, but the individuals in this group represent decades of experience in working with cities, school districts, counties, state agencies, and industries to fight pollution here in Washington and around the globe.  HOTF spearheaded the effort to get the City of Olympia to pass a first in the nation resolution that phases out the use of pesticides as well as products that contain or contribute to persistent toxic pollution. Through education, community outreach, lobbying, media work, and many meetings, the taskforce was successful this January in persuading the Olympia City Council to unanimously adopt the Healthy Olympia Resolution. Since then, the taskforce has gone on to work on toxics reduction with the City of Tumwater, the Olympia School District, Thurston County, North Thurston School District, and the Port of Olympia. You can read a Dec. 2006 Olympian article about this group here.

Pictured, L to R: Harry Branch, Dr. Paul Allen, Angela Storey (WTC), Evergreen intern Laura Ritter, Jean MacGregor, Stan Butler, and Beth Doglio.

Rick Barrett

Rick led the community based effort on behalf of Seattle Citizens for Quality Living to shut down the Northwest Hospital incinerator in Seattle, which was a significant source of dioxins, lead, and mercury in his North Seattle neighborhood. Rick is a tireless organizer who is working for a sustainable Seattle.

Elizabeth Davis

Elizabeth is the chair of the Natural Resources Committee for the League of Women Voters and a long-time coalition partner of the Toxics Coalition. She has been a leader in the effort to establish the nation's first state plan to phase out persistent toxic chemicals. Elizabeth has also worked doggedly to pass the PBDE bill, calling and e-mailing her legislators and mobilizing her contacts day and night. She is truly an amazing person who can be counted on to deliver!

Ad Hoc Coalition for Willapa Bay

This photo from 1996 or 1997, shows original members of the Ad Hoc Coalition for Willapa Bay, including (left to right) Larry Warnberg, Dr. Qin Pei of the Spartina Institute of Nanking, China,  Fritzi Cohen, and Edward Stone Cohen. The Ad Hoc Coalition members have worked for many years to protect Willapa Bay from pesticides.

Photos not available:

Diane Hardee
Diane is a special education teacher in the Northshore School District and has been a long-time pesticides activist and WTC member. She has worked with her district to reduce their use of pesticides for many years, and also has been involved in fighting pesticide spraying in forestry and logging.

Jill Albinger and Therese Cushing
Jill and Therese are parents in the Lake Washington School District and spearheaded the effort to reduce the use of pesticides in the schools. Jill worked to get her local school to go pesticide-free (which it still is!) and both of them advocated for a stronger district-wide policy. Both were also active in the push for the Children’s School Right to Know law regarding recordkeeping, notification, and posting of pesticide use in schools. Jill is now working with the Kirkland City Council and departments on an IPM policy for the entire city. Both women are WTC members and big supporters.

Darlene Schanfald
For more than a decade, Darlene has fought for a cleaner, healthier Port Angeles and Washington state. She worked hard with other community members to clean up the Rayonier pulp mill air and waste emissions when it was operating. When the pulp mill shut down, she led the successful effort to get the EPA to investigate the contamination left behind. Darlene is an incredibly committed activist who continues to fight for the best cleanup in Port Angeles.