To spray or not to spray?

Prue Barratt

I have gone to great expense and effort to have and supply the community and tourist with clean food through organic gardening and I am deeply dismayed at the level of ignorance and disrespect shown in this matter by the Derwent Valley Council.

It was a lovely autumn Sunday when I happened to look out my kitchen window past my beautiful organic vegetable garden to see a man I a full white suit, with a gas mask on merrily spraying pink poison along the boundary of my fence an inch away from my garden.

I rushed out to ask the gentleman to stop spraying immediately I told him I had asked the Derwent Valley council to not allow spraying on my corner because I sold organic veggies and that I had lost about $500 worth of vines from over spray that were growing along my fence one year and they had agreed to not spay here anymore.

The gentleman said he would stop, but to my horror five minutes later the white clad man was spraying where he said he wouldn’t, I yelled out to him again to stop and walked over to confront him he said the council person responsible said to go ahead with the spraying and not to worry about me.

I spoke to the council person on the phone, someone I had known for many years that new I sold organic vegies to the community and the passing tourists so I though it was just a misunderstanding, but no he proceeded to tell me they had “no choice it had to be done” even after me pleading with him to stop because I would lose vegies that had been ordered for a café that Wednesday and I would lose some of my winter food stocks, he said “if you have a problem with it ring the council”

So I had to stand there and watch in helpless dismay as the contractor sprayed within an inch of my lovely organic vegetables with chemicals that studies now show to be very dangerous to human health even in small quantities, especially young children.

I have gone to great expense and effort to have and supply the community and tourist with clean food through organic gardening and I am deeply dismayed at the level of ignorance and disrespect shown in this matter by the Derwent Valley Council.

They are there to represent the people that live in its municipality I am one of those people and they have failed not only me but the hundreds of people that buy food from me knowing it’s organic.

I put these questions to all members of our community- “Are you content to have these harmful chemical cocktails being sprayed around your yards & parks where you and your children play?” and if you think it doesn’t affect you, after “spray day” have a look at the bottom of your children’s shoes are they pink? And when it rains were does it go? Do your children swim in the river? Do you eat fish from the rivers in the Derwent catchment?

What protection do we have in our own yards?