Herbicide Drift. Are trees impacted here?

About our topic

Herbicide drift (trespass) has been an economic and ecological concern for decades. However in recent years, there have been dramatic increases in the use of many popular herbicides in an effort to combat herbicide-resistant weeds. Widespread injuries to wild and cultivated plants have been reported since these increases in herbicide use began. PrairieRivers Network's Tree and Plant Health Monitoring Program has studied the impacts of drift for 7 years. This presentation will discuss the summary of 6 years of findings, such as the long term impacts of herbicide drift to trees, plants, and ecosystem health in our new report "Hidden in Plain Sight".

About the speaker

Kim Erndt-Pitcher, director of ecological health, has worked for Prairie Rivers Network for over 15 years. She leads the organization's biodiversity and pesticide programs. Before coming to PRN she was a crew member and environmental educator at Living Lands and Waters based in Moline, Illinois, and a technician with the USGS in Kansas City, Missouri. She has spent most of her career working to promote and advocate for the protection of biodiversity and the integrity of natural systems. Kim received a M.S. Biology with a focus on Ecotoxicology from the University of Central Missouri, and was a National Science Foundation IGERT Fellow in Watershed Science and Technology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

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Natural Habitat Evanston, a program of Climate Action Evanston, is an all-volunteer community group of about 1,300 members, spreading the word on creating habitat for insects, birds, and other wildlife. We aim to change the culture of lawns: leaving your leaves is the simplest first step; the second step is adding a native shrub or tree to shrink your lawn. We show how to transition from turf with low-cost cardboard methods, which keystone native plants to choose for year-round forage, that insects chewing on leaves is a ‘win’ (rather than cause to reach for pesticide), how turning off unnecessary lights saves insect and birds (and human health), and how to make your windows bird-friendly (because if you are going to invite birds to your yard, let them visit safely). We plant a lot of native trees and shrubs, especially at schools and in the 5th Ward.

We encourage people to think outside the lawn with No Mow May. Our Pollinator Pledge is a central focus of all our outreach and education, and a great way to spread the word to your neighbors.

We encourage people to think outside the lawn with No Mow May. Our Pollinator Pledge is a central focus of all our outreach and education, and a great way to spread the word to your neighbors.