Seriously?

Our property has been certified & listed with National Wildlife Federation's 'Backyard Habitat' program for over 11 years,  and we're very committed to tend the land in balance with nature, displacing as little natural habitat as possible.  We do not use any chemicals, pesticides or herbicides on our property and I put out 'no spray' signs when the county passes by with it's defoiliant. I'll keep the weeds in my ditches, thank you very much. We're not obsessed with having a picture perfect yard- but we are obsessed with the beauty and wonder of nature.

We share our home with a large diversity of wildife and insects, and we take certain measures to keep the environs 'critter friendly'.  We've planted many native perennial flowers, shrubs and fruit-bearing trees that benefit both birds and butterflies, and we've covered every window and sliding glass doors on our home with birdscreens, that effectively eliminate all window strikes. The wooded area is left in a natural state since our intent is not only to live among the wild, but to live with the wild, and to us there is a very large difference.

We take our commitment to keep our property safe quite seriously. Apparently NWF does not. They've teamed up with Scotts, a division of Monsanto and makers of Miracle Grow and many other products. Poisonous products. Toxic products.Roundup . Products that I would not touch with a ten foot pole. Products with names like 'Weed B Gone' -' Bug B Gone'.  Have a home, lawn or garden pest problem? Well, no problem! Scotts will help you take care of that in a jiffy. And those pesky mice, that are a huge food source for hawks and owls? Scotts will show you how to kill them efficiently and quickly. They even make a product called 'GroundClear'. I'm honestly a bit too squeamish to search out what exactly it clears.

The Scotts Turf Builder Lawn Fertilizer label, for example, says to make sure the product does not touch your skin or clothing. It also says that if you have inhaled the product for long periods of time you may experience damage to your central nervous system. The same is true for your pets. I find it more than a bit horrific that anyone, nature lover or not, would use a product with such dire warnings. If you don't value nature and wildlife, certainly you would value your own health.. or the health of your children and pets?

To read more about this attempt at greenwashing a company that has less than a good record when it comes to our environment, you can read all of the dirty details at Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens. If you're as dissapointed as I am, I hope you'll contact NWF either by their homepage or their facebook page. Our NWF sign came down today. And it will stay down unless NWF reverses their decision on this toxic partnership.