Miami Shores Parents Lobby Against Toxic Chemicals

A group of environmentalists has been advocating for more organic pest control in Miami Shores for three years now. But when multiple kids went home May 5 with green spots on their skin and clothing after playing in a local field, parents marshalled around the village’s integrated pest management policy (IPM).

The policy was created and approved unanimously in 2019 by village officials, all of whom have left office except for one. It requires the public works department to minimize its use of chemical pesticides on public fields, applying them only when absolutely necessary.

And although the recent incident just two months ago isn’t what environmentalists meant when they advocated for the village to “go green,” it didn’t exactly defy the IPM, either.

Catalyst for Change

The culprit behind the green stains was Harrell’s SprayMAX PAR SG, “a highly concentrated and stable pigment designed to improve the appearance of turf and provide a visual spray pattern identification for the applicator,” according to the company’s website. It had been applied on the field adjacent to the village’s recreation complex together with a nitrogen fertilizer to avoid accidental reapplication.

To be clear, neither the colorant nor the fertilizer is considered a pesticide, meaning neither is restricted by the IPM.

But that didn’t satisfy mothers who spent their nights scrubbing their kids to remove a substance labeled with a clear warning to keep away from children and off skin.

“Our policy specifically addresses pesticides, but we want the village to refrain from using chemical pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers in public spaces where children are scheduled to have any contact that day, or any longer depending on what the chemical is,” said Kate Mason, a member of a local advocacy group known as Moms Making Waves.

Esmond Scott and Chris Miranda, Miami Shores’ village manager and public works director, were quick to respond after being made aware of the situation – which was in part due to unexpected rainfall that had refreshed the dried dye. During a June 21 council meeting, the two announced their move to change procedure by eliminating the use of the colorant, enlarging signage required for public spaces recently sprayed with chemicals and providing field closures during the days of application.

Mason said she has since seen signage visibly posted on a local field, but she also has urged officials to disseminate the news electronically, either through text message or the village app, MyMSV.

Preservationists are still worried that the village isn’t doing enough to decrease its use of toxic chemicals, hoping that their community will one day be entirely pesticide-free.

“Part of what we need to do in this village at large is work with the environment, not against it. And the toxic chemicals are working against the environment,” said resident Susan Howell at a June 7 council meeting.

A Battle Revisited

The issue of pesticides in the Shores was initially raised by local conservationist group Bound by Beauty – particularly by its founder, Mary Benton, who began to reach out to councilmembers in 2019 with a vision of creating a chemical-free zone throughout Miami Shores, Biscayne Park, North Miami and El Portal.

“We were working really hard. We were going to a lot of meetings, we were trying to educate people and we got the IPM passed, and then nothing happened and communicating with the village regarding the implementation of it was like pulling teeth,” said Chad Moreschi, president and owner of Natural Resources Pest Control, who was instrumental in the IPM’s success in those early days.

Moreschi and Benton had requested to see the required annual public works report on the department’s adherence to the IPM policy in 2021, which they felt was vague and inadequate. Written by then public works director Scott Davis, the one-page report did not specify which products his department had tested in place of conventional ones.

Generally unsatisfied with the village’s efforts, Benton decided to ease off once the pandemic hit, and Moreschi’s involvement also began to fizzle. During that hiatus, Davis and the previous village manager – to whom his report was addressed – were replaced.

Then the kids came home green.

“It was sort of a quiet, simmering problem primarily between a small, positively no-pesticides team that we formed that had gotten the original resolution passed. Then when the mothers came it just elevated it to another level of concern,” Benton said.

Minimizing Toxicity

With the added attention, the journey toward organic pest control may soon be realized. Councilmember Crystal Wagar asked that Miranda begin conducting comprehensive research on alternatives to toxic pesticides and fertilizers within the next two months.

But Miranda posed some potential roadblocks. Athletic fields are unique, particularly prone to pesky weeds such as goosegrass, broadleaf plantain and buttonweed that make the grounds unstable and unsafe for kids to play on.

Miami-Dade County recently passed an ordinance prohibiting use of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer during the rainy season from May 15 to Oct. 31, when runoff is more likely to be carried into water resources like the Biscayne Bay – but that excludes golf courses and certain athletic fields.

“We only use pesticides when absolutely necessary,” said Miranda, who gave a report on the village’s limited use of even low-toxicity pesticides at the June 21 meeting. “For the most part our fields stay pristine and our programs are run flawlessly, and we only have the children’s safety at heart.”

Natural Resources Pest Control doesn’t use organic products exclusively either, estimating that use instead at around 90%. Still, Moreschi, who is licensed in lawn and ornamental pest control but has a wide scope of knowledge adopted from his longtime family business, believes the village has yet to exhaust all other options.

“They could totally be doing more,” he said. “They could hire a professional consultant that specializes in turf maintenance in a nontoxic way and start the transition … They just need to care enough to want to do that.”

Quantity Plus Quality

In the meantime, Scott is hoping to address what he believes is an underlying problem associated with the need to close down the recreation field during routine pesticide application.

“Recognize that that park is open seven days a week, that the demand for leisure activities is constant in the field … I think that the time is due for us to look at the parks master plan to see if there are other recreational areas that we can [create] in this village, because that is not sufficient,” Scott said.

The Miami Shores Recreation Complex currently offers more than 60 classes and activities for residents of all ages, many of which take place outdoors on the field. It is the only park in the village designed for wide-range athletic gameplay.

The village council already has plans to remodel the complex, plans that began with a presentation by the Urban Land Institute at the June 21 meeting. But Scott and others believe that what this waterfront community needs is not to focus solely on the quality of a single green space, but also on the creation of more.