BOISE, Idaho — Summer is finally here, and many Boiseans have been outside, basking in the sun and enjoying the city's parks.
Besides the weather, have you noticed more dandelions?
If so, there's a good reason for that. Boise Parks and Recreation held a Dandelion Festival at Cassia Park on Saturday to highlight efforts to reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides in city parks.
Since 2020, Boise Parks and Recreation has reduced pesticide applications by more than 40 percent. The Dandelion Festival was centered around highlighting that Pesticide Reduction Program.
"Our pesticide reduction efforts have been going on for about three years now, we started in 2020," said Daniel Roop, Sustainability Specialist for Boise Parks and Recreation.
"It's really an effort to use our pesticides - which we view as a landscape tool - as judiciously as possible across all of our sites. Every site is different so they're all being treated differently. We have seen really good reductions in some of the some of the changes we've been making. Most of those changes are happening at neighborhood parks," Roop said.
Roop said the city's pesticide reduction program came to fruition for two main reasons. The first, was the community feedback the city had received. There was plentiful input from community members saying they desired more pesticide-free areas.
The second, the reduction of pesticides assist with the biodiversity of 'open spaces' - property open to the public that serves as recreational space.
"It makes a healthier environment for birds, for insects, for pollinators - and also increases the habitat for them," Roop said.
The Dandelion Festival had live music, games, booths and activities centered around sustainability. Highlighting the festival theme was Woodland Empire Ale Craft, the brew masters who brewed the dandelion beer.
"All those flowers were picked by volunteers at our sites where we no longer apply pesticides," Roop said.
It's not just dandelions that have been popping up in Boise parks.
"As a result of our pesticide reduction efforts, we're seeing more broadleaf in the turf - so more dandelions, more clover, those types of plants," Roop continued.
Boise's Pesticide Reduction Program was still considered a pilot program until 2022. Once the program established its method and was proven successful, Boise Parks and Recreation decided to officially incorporate the program into park maintenance policies, beginning this year.
Boise Parks and Recreation is accepting feedback on the Pesticide Reduction Program. More information on community feedback can be found here.
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