2017 started with the worst possible news for us.  On January 2<sup>nd</sup> in Amarillo, Texas four children died in their trailer home from the misuse of the toxic pesticide Aluminum phosphide. The unknown user mixed water with this poison designed to kill rodents and accidentally produced toxic Phosphine gas.

I mention this story not to scare you, but to enlighten you about the overpowering enemy MPAC faces day in and day out.  No, I’m not talking the billion-dollar pesticide manufacturing industry or your local “chem-lawn” care company. This enemy works far more in the shadows: pesticide misinformation or illiteracy.

The Amarillo user clearly got the poison from the black market as they did not know that water would cause such a catastrophic result. Every misinformed resident increases the risk of improper and dangerous pesticide use. That’s a lot of risk given that the majority of us do not devote our professions or lives to pest and weed management. The kind of risk that causes the average urban homeowner to use three to ten times more toxins per acre on their lawns than what the average farmer applies to crops.

Survey after survey finds a systemic public misunderstanding of even the simplest lawn care practices of mowing and watering.  The type of systemic misunderstanding that general information about proper lawn management cannot tackle alone.  To challenge this enemy, we need to create action knowledge that guides individuals to revaluate their lawn care behavior through demonstrations and discussions. We need the peer-to-peer learning taking place at the Midwest Grows Green Lawn &amp; Land Forum.

The MGG Forum started as a partnership between MPAC and the Illinois Sports Turf Managers Association to document, summarize, and improve the state of Integrated Pest Management and Natural Lawn Care policies and practices locally, regionally, and nationally.

Our first session on October 26<sup>th</sup>, 2016 covering community engagement ended with more questions than answers, but we want that! The more than 50 participants of the Forum from park and school districts, lawn care providers, and local governments drive the findings and discussions. A future session or further technical research by MPAC and our partner network of academic institutions can address these participant questions and understanding gaps.

By using this participant centered format we arrive on IPM and NLC topics and issues that influence everyday decisions in the management of our parks, schools, golf courses, and other recreational spaces.  Case in point, our next MGG Forum webinar on Wednesday, January 18<sup>th</sup> will cover cost factors of IPM after multiple questions and talking points focused on the topic at the October session.

How do these discussions relate to tackling public lawn care illiteracy? We find that many homeowners turn to their local park and school districts for expertise on lawn care. This peer-to-peer learning forum encourages these districts to embrace their role as an educator of proper lawn care through technical, communication, and outreach support that reduces uncertainty about less toxic practices and prepares them for the decisions and problems they will face in implementing IPM and/or pesticide-free strategies and policies.

As active educators, our park and school districts enable the dispersal of action knowledge at our parks through IPM and NLC demonstrations, signage, and interactive events.  Adding a key piece to our puzzle of achieving large scale pesticide reduction in Chicago, the Midwest, and nationwide.

To learn more about the forum, visit our page at bit.ly/MGGforum or contact me at <a href="mailto:randerson@pesticideaction.org">randerson@pesticideaction.org</a>. Also, please share our January 18<sup>th</sup> session with your local park and/or school district at bit.ly/MGGjan18. Each new participant improves the discussions and the resources that we develop at bit.ly/LLFresources.