Rohnert Park Bans Synthetic Pesticides in Parks

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Persistence and persuasion finally paid off Monday for a dedicated group of community activists in Rohnert Park.

The group had been working for two years to pressure the city to abandon the use of synthetic pesticides in public parks, playgrounds and medians. They cited studies that detailed the health effects of the chemicals, most notably glyphosate, and appeared at city council meetings to plead their case.

On Monday, all of that work was rewarded when the city released a statement saying the use of synthetics in public parks had come to an end. That means Rohnert Park joins a growing list of Sonoma County cities that have banned synthetic pesticides from most public spaces. While the city will continue to use synthetics in some roadway medians, community members hope to persuade the city to end that policy as well.

Julie Royes, who led the anti-synthetics push, told News of the North Bay that her campaign was boosted in the past month by the contributions of Tom Kelley, Operations Manager for the city’s Public Works department.