Shaye,

These are simply my opinions...

I think that what the 'ban' has done here in HRM (Halifax Regional Municipality) is increased the awareness of healthy alternatives. That being said, we still have a long way to go as the by laws in place are just the beginning and not the be all, end all.

I support the ban wholeheartedly and believe that I have gone many steps ahead of it as an individual. I think the municipality could do more in the area of educating it's constituents. A simple point in that area would be to educate folks as to the value of weed seed suppression by using corn meal gluten vs using 'Weed and Feed' which is still acceptable and takes hoards of shelf space in many stores.

As per the birds, bees, and butterflies, we have definitely found an increase on our property to the point that we are now seeing Monarchs lay their eggs in the gardens, but then again this is a new home for us - 6 years young - and much effort has been made on our part to use organic means to support all living things around us. We don't 'fertilize' our lawn as some of our neighbours do and last year I threw out all old nasty sprays and such. We are not fanatical about it. We simply enjoy what is happening around us and have made the effort to educate ourselves further than what the law requires.

One thing which frustrates me is the selling of products which are fatal to small animals, pets and children. Oh yes, there are still such products allowed. One of my favourite big box stores sells two different types of slug bait. The first is Sluggo, which is safe to use around birds, pets, and children and will not harm them should they get curious about taste. The other is META, which will kill birds, possibly your pets, and may harm children. Instances like this infuriate me to no end. When there is a healthy alternative to a pesticide, why are we still offering the unsafe one? The reason given by store management is that the META sells more. Now, I don't go around creating controversy - I'm just not the type. But on the day that I decided to see what the reasoning was, I also asked a lady who was next to me and about to buy the product to read the label as to the safety of both boxes. She immediately chose the Sluggo. Point made in front of store management, but to this day they are still selling this product...

My main issue is educaction. There really isn't enough of it going out to the public. It's nice to say, 'You can't use that anymore', but the public should be given an alternative. One of my co-workers was spending $$ getting his lawn serviced with the approved steroids, but one day he asked about what I did. I told him that he'd have to start looking at a dandelion differently from now on if he wanted to adopt our methods. They are after all a great scource of food for early butterflies. Since then, he has canceled his lawn service and now mows higher. leaves the clippings on the lawn, throws all the used coffee grounds on the lawn he can get from a local coffee shop, and, yes, he thinks of dandelions differently! :O)