To many, going organic means spending a few extra dollars on produce that was grown without harmful pesticides or switching to a different shampoo.
What many do not consider, however, is that the parks in their community use those same pesticides they aim to avoid.
Stonyfield Organic, a company that sells organic food products, is trying to change this, and Grant Park is joining the company in this movement.
According to Mairead Dunphy, missions communications manager for Stonyfield Organic, the company aims “to convert some of the world’s most famous parks, including Grant Park” in Chicago “into organic grounds”—with Grant Park the first.
“Harsh chemical compounds have no place in an environment where people and pets engage with nature,” said Gail Merritt, co-founder of the Alliance for a Greener South Loop. “This is not just about people and pets, though. All insects, birds, and animals are affected by how the soil and water in the park are managed.”
“Based on Stonyfield research, 58% of Chicagoans aren’t aware of the harmful pesticides being sprayed in their parks,” Dunphy said.
Stonyfield Organic launched its StonyFIELDS #PlayFree initiative in 2018 as a nationwide initiative to help keep families free from harmful pesticides in parks and playing fields across the country.
“An organic park means that there are no toxic chemicals used and that it is free of harmful pesticides, making it safe for families and pets to play on,” said Dunphy, missions communications manager for Stonyfield Organic.
Earlier in 2021, Stonyfield began its collaboration with Chicago Park District (CPD) authorities to convert the park officially into organic grounds.
Why Grant Park?
“Being Chicago’s ‘front door,’ Grant Park is visited by so many residents and tourists,” said Merritt. “With so many users, in such a prominent location, it is an ideal place to showcase and educate about the benefits of organic practices.”
Stonyfield teams with organizations such as Beyond Pesticides, Osborne Organics, Herbicide Free Campus, Midwest Grows Green, and Non-Toxic Neighborhoods to help communities start the process of turning their parks and playing fields organic.
A government entity such as the CPD begins by taking a soil sample from the park and analyzing it. From this sample, land managers can identify the custom steps they need to take to make the park organic.
Stonyfield and the CPD estimate Grant Park’s organic changeover will not be finished until 2025.
Regarding the process’s length, Dunphy explained that cutting out all harmful pesticides is not an overnight switch. The soil in parks like these needs time to come back to a natural state of health.
Stonyfield asserts it is cheaper in the long term for a city park to go organic.
“When Stonyfield partners with a city to help convert, they pay for the in-kind technical assistance of their partners, who transition the field, and they also give the city a donation of $5,000 to $15,000 to help with additional costs,” Dunphy said. “The goal, and what ends up happening by year three in most situations, is that the city spends less money on maintenance because less inputs are needed to manage the field.”
So, is this good for Grant Park? Alliance for Greener South Loop says yes, absolutely.
“The benefits of organic practices may not be easy to quantify, but they are real,” Merritt said. “We know so much more now about how all living things are connected and how we all need clean air, water, and soil. That’s what organic practices aim to support.”
Those wanting to propose other local parks to go organic can visit Stonyfield’s Pesticide Portal at https://hello.stonyfield.com/pesticideportal to flag a park for a Stonyfields review.
Log on to greenersouthloop.com for the Alliance for a Greener South Loop. For the Chicago Park District, log on to www.chicagoparkdistrict.com. For more on Stonyfield Organic, go to www.stonyfield.com.
—Kayla McLeod