Network for Ecology · Communities for Safer Spaces
Help your community move beyond routine spraying.
Parks for play. Schoolyards for discovery. Neighborhoods alive with birds, butterflies, and healthy growing spaces.
Help change how these places are cared for. Ask what is being used, bring people together, and advocate for pesticide-free landscapes and prevention-first, rodenticide-free management.
Start with one place. Build a clear request. Help make change possible.
Start with one placeSupport NFEBackground: illustrative stock photograph via Pexels; not a documented campaign site.
Help put change within reach.
A concerned neighbor should not have to begin from scratch.
Support NFE’s work to make the issue understandable, put practical action tools in people’s hands, and bring community-led efforts into view—locally, regionally, and across America.
Your support helps sustain the research, storytelling, education, campaign development, and outreach behind this work.
Support NFEDonations support NFE’s own work. The action tools remain available without payment or signup.
Start with one place.
You do not need to change an entire town to begin. Choose a place you care about and make one clear request.
1. Choose your place.
A park, school ground, congregation, housing community, or another shared landscape.
2. Find who decides.
Identify the owner, manager, or department responsible for maintenance.
3. Send the first request.
Ask what is being used and whether a practical transition can be explored.
4. Follow up. Keep the commitment moving.
Ask for a response and a clear next step. Stay in touch, document commitments, and follow whether agreed changes are carried out.
One Place. More Life.
Help change how your community cares for shared land.
We help people advocate for pesticide-free shared landscapes and prevention-first, rodenticide-free management—starting with one place and a practical plan.
Our starting request: a clearly defined pilot at one place, with the expertise, staff support, maintenance plan, and public reporting needed to evaluate the transition honestly.
For the people who use these places, the pets beside them, and the pollinators and wildlife sharing the landscape, the vision is more thoughtful care—not neglect.
Find your way to take part.
A shared place
Prepare a specific request, identify the right contact, and plan your next conversation.
Prepare your local request →Grounds you manage
Prepare a practical pilot proposal with your school, church, business, or community grounds team.
Build a pilot proposal →Your yard and garden
Make one practical change in how you care for your lawn, garden, or outdoor space.
Start your homeowner action plan →You can also help by gathering information, taking meeting notes, making introductions, or sharing a useful skill. Work with grounds staff—not against them.
Your local action plan.
Work toward a specific request, the right contact, a meeting plan, and a record of the next decision. These tools help you prepare; they do not guarantee approval.
- Choose a place and identify its owner, manager, and decision-maker. Use the local action planner.
- Request policies, products and active ingredients, available application records, notification procedures, and contractor information. Follow local information-request procedures. Use the sample letter and information checklist.
- Ask to try a different approach in one defined area. Agree on the methods, people, training, costs, and review date before work begins. Prepare a pilot proposal.
- Bring neighbors and relevant groups into a constructive meeting. Ask what staff need to make a transition workable. Use the meeting guide.
- Record the decision, implementation, review date, and unresolved questions. A commitment is not proof that practices changed. Use the progress log.
Do you manage grounds for a school, church, business, or community?
Whether you oversee a schoolyard, church lawn, park, athletic field, apartment property, homeowners association common area, or business landscape, you can help change how that land is cared for.
This pathway helps you prepare a practical pilot proposal with your grounds team—not a ready-made technical prescription.
Start by reviewing your maintenance agreement with your grounds team or landscape contractor. Ask for a prevention-first plan that addresses recurring problems, prioritizes nonchemical methods, and sets out a practical transition.
- Know what is being used. Inventory products, application practices, recurring problems, and who makes treatment decisions.
- Explore alternatives. Ask what prevention, landscape design, and nonchemical maintenance could address those problems.
- Support the people doing the work. Identify staffing, training, equipment, contractor, and budget needs.
- Start with a defined area. Choose one schoolyard, lawn, garden, playing field, or other manageable site.
- Set a review date. Document the methods used, results, challenges, and next decisions.
Include applicable public-health and regulatory requirements. If the plan permits pesticide use under defined exceptions, describe those limits clearly rather than calling it completely pesticide-free.
Plan a pilot for your groundsFor homeowners · Your yard and garden
A more living yard starts with one change.
You do not have to redesign your entire property. Begin with one garden bed, a recurring lawn treatment, weeds along a path, or a conversation with your lawn-care company.
Choose the situation that fits your home:
My lawn-care company applies routine treatments.
Start by asking what is being applied, what problem each treatment addresses, and whether it is scheduled routinely or responds to an identified problem.
Copy and adapt this message:
I want to move toward pesticide-free care for my yard. Please send me the products currently used, the purpose of each treatment, and a proposal that prioritizes prevention and nonchemical maintenance. Explain any changes in cost, appearance, or ongoing care, and discuss proposed treatments with me before applying them.
I want to change one part of my yard.
Choose a small area and describe what you want it to do: provide a welcoming garden, reduce a recurring maintenance problem, or make more room for wildlife.
Before choosing plants or methods, identify the site conditions and any local advice you need. Write down the work, cost, and continuing care involved—not just the initial purchase.
I maintain my yard myself.
Review one recurring task or product you use. Ask:
- What problem am I trying to solve?
- What keeps the problem coming back?
- What prevention or nonchemical options are appropriate here?
- What information or qualified advice do I need before changing my approach?
Your first-change plan
Copy this into your own notes and fill it in:
The part of my yard I want to change: ______
What I do there now: ______
What I want to achieve: ______
Advice or information I need: ______
The change I will make: ______
Initial cost and continuing care: ______
When I will check how it is working: ______
Renting your home? Use the questions to start a conversation with your landlord or property manager, and obtain permission before changing the grounds. Seek qualified local advice for public-health concerns, wells, water bodies, and site-specific requirements. Natural and organic do not mean harmless.
Your local action toolkit.
No signup required. Use the sample letter to make your first request, open the guided plan when you are ready to develop a pilot, and copy the worksheets into your own document.
Make the first request.
Subject: Request for landscape-management information and a pilot at [place]
Dear [name or department],
I am a [resident/parent/member] who uses and cares about [place].
Please share the current pesticide and rodenticide policies for this site, the products and active ingredients used, available application records, notification procedures, and the department or contractor responsible for maintenance.
I would welcome a discussion about a pesticide-free landscape-care pilot and prevention-first, rodenticide-free pest management at this location.
Could we explore a plan that includes prevention, nonchemical methods, appropriate technical advice, staff training, a realistic budget, and public reporting?
We recognize that maintaining a well-used landscape takes work. Our request is to examine how that work can be supported while reducing reliance on routine chemical treatments.
Please let us know who can discuss this proposal and what the next step would be.
Thank you,
[Name]
[Community or organization, if applicable]
Local action planner
Place/community: [ ]
Owner/manager: [ ]
Decision-maker/public contact: [ ]
Concern and evidence: [ ]
Specific request: [ ]
Helpers and roles: [ ]
Next action, responsible person, date: [ ]
Follow-up date: [ ]
Information-request checklist
Ask for policies; products and active ingredients; available dates, locations, and quantities; notification procedures; contractor responsibilities; prevention practices; nonchemical options; and the process for proposing a change. Record your request, response, and follow-up. Disclosure obligations vary by location.
Meeting guide
- Introduce the place and your request.
- Listen to staff needs and constraints.
- Discuss alternatives with appropriate expertise.
- Identify training, equipment, staffing, procurement, and funding needs.
- Agree on a next step, contact, and review date.
Plan a pilot for your grounds.
Choose a place. Understand the problem. Make a practical plan. Follow what changes.
Use NFE’s guided action plan to prepare a proposal with your grounds team and appropriate local expertise.
Open the full NFE Living Landscape Action Plan
Version 1 · November 2026
Put a practical plan to work.
For school grounds, church properties, parks, housing communities, businesses, and other shared places. Choose one recurring problem, develop a manageable change with the right people, and document what happens.
An NFE educational planning framework—not a site-specific treatment plan, certification, or proven intervention. This version has not yet received independent technical review or field testing. Arrange qualified review before implementation; follow local requirements and do not delay responses to urgent health or safety concerns.
1. Choose the problem you want to solve.
Write a specific problem statement: “At [place], [recurring problem] leads to [current maintenance response]. We want to test [proposed change] while maintaining [required site function].”
Route A: Repeated weed treatment beside paths or buildings
Investigate where vegetation returns, what operational problem it creates, site access, drainage, surface conditions, and current labor requirements. With the grounds team, compare feasible prevention, design, and mechanical-maintenance options.
Output: a bounded maintenance trial identifying the area, method, responsible worker, inspection schedule, acceptable condition, and reassessment trigger. Do not obstruct access or introduce unassessed fire, trip, or equipment hazards.
Route B: Recurring lawn treatments
Record how the lawn is used, current treatments, wear patterns, maintenance expectations, and available soil or turf assessments. Ask a qualified advisor what further assessment is needed before selecting changes.
Output: a grounds-care transition brief covering site use, baseline, proposed practices, staff training, costs, inspection schedule, and performance criteria. Do not assume one turf prescription fits every climate or playing surface.
Route C: Rodent concerns around a building
Ask a qualified professional to assess signs, species, entry points, food and waste storage, water sources, and shelter. Assign facilities and waste-management responsibilities before selecting a control approach.
Output: a prevention and exclusion action list, with permissions, responsible people, deadlines, professional oversight, and follow-up monitoring. This guide does not provide instructions for trapping, handling animals, cleaning contaminated areas, or managing an infestation. Do not assume physical controls are harmless.
Route D: A high-maintenance planting area
Record plant suitability, bare soil, watering, access, recurring weeds, and maintenance effort. Discuss locally appropriate planting, groundcover, mulch, or redesign options with a knowledgeable advisor, including permissions and establishment care.
Output: a planting-area improvement proposal with an approved design, materials, budget, maintenance responsibilities, and review schedule. Check utilities, access, visibility, and local requirements before altering a site.
2. Establish a baseline before changing practices.
- Define the site boundary, size, use, and owner.
- Describe the actual problem and how often it occurs; distinguish aesthetic preferences from functional or health concerns.
- Record current products, methods, treatment frequency, staff time, contractor costs, equipment, and available records.
- Record starting conditions consistently, using dated observations and photographs where permission allows.
- Agree with the manager on acceptable conditions and when intervention or reassessment is required.
Example planning prompt—not a reported NFE project: “Compare maintenance hours and agreed site-condition observations in the defined trial area before and after the change, noting weather, season, and differences in use.”
3. Compare options before choosing one.
For each option, record: the cause it addresses; evidence or advisor supporting it; suitability for the site; foreseeable risks; labor, equipment, and cost; required permissions; maintenance needs; and uncertainties. Choose with the manager and appropriate technical reviewer—not on the basis of an organic or natural label alone.
4. Produce a proposal someone can approve.
Copy this approval brief into your own document:
Place, owner, and decision-maker: [ ]
Problem, site use, and baseline evidence: [ ]
Proposed change and rationale: [ ]
Site boundary and scope: [ ]
Methods and qualified reviewer: [ ]
Responsible staff or contractor: [ ]
Materials, equipment, and training: [ ]
Budget and proposed funding source: [ ]
Permissions and regulatory/public-health checks: [ ]
Start date and inspection schedule: [ ]
Acceptable conditions and reassessment triggers: [ ]
Exceptions and notification process: [ ]
Review date and reporting owner: [ ]
Approval requested, approver, and date: [ ]
Seek written authorization before work starts. Identify who can pause or revise the trial if conditions become unacceptable. Do not assume NFE or a featured organization will fund or manage the work.
5. Implement, monitor, and review.
- Brief staff and contractors on the authorized plan, responsibilities, and escalation process.
- Log dates, methods, materials or products used, labor, costs, site conditions, complaints, and any departures from the plan.
- Keep monitoring reasonably consistent; record seasonal, weather, and use changes that affect interpretation.
- At the review date, compare findings against the agreed baseline and criteria.
- Record a decision: continue, adjust, expand, or stop—with reasons and next responsibilities.
Use the pilot review template
What changed: [ ]
What was actually implemented: [ ]
Observed site performance: [ ]
Labor and cost comparison: [ ]
Exceptions, problems, and corrective actions: [ ]
Weather, season, use, or other limitations: [ ]
Staff and user feedback: [ ]
Decision and supporting evidence: [ ]
Next action, owner, and date: [ ]
Permission to share documents or photographs: [ ]
A policy commitment is not implementation. Fewer treatments alone do not establish improved health or biodiversity. Report pesticide-free results, reductions, and programs with exceptions distinctly, and state what has not been measured.
Specialist help strengthens the plan.
NFE’s contribution here is the planning and accountability framework. Use appropriately qualified local expertise for technical decisions. The independent organizations below may offer organizing resources or programs; check scope, geography, eligibility, and capacity directly.
- Moms Across America: Toxin Free Town organizing framework
- Beyond Pesticides: Parks for a Sustainable Future
- PAN UK: resident organizing guidance, UK-specific
- EPA: identification, monitoring, thresholds, and prevention principles
Standard integrated pest management can include pesticides; it is not synonymous with this campaign’s pesticide-free goal. Resource inclusion is not an endorsement of every claim or an announced partnership.
How we intend to improve this framework
Next development priorities are independent technical review, usability feedback, and permission-based documentation of real applications. We will distinguish educational tools from tested results and revise the framework as evidence and experience become available. These priorities are not a promise of staffed coaching or open pilot enrollment.
Send a brief introduction only; do not submit sensitive information. See campaign scope and transparency below for NFE’s current role.
Progress log
Record date, action, responsible person, response, public evidence, next step, and permission to share. Distinguish inquiry, proposal, written commitment, implementation, and review. Count pesticide-free commitments, reductions, and programs with exceptions separately. Do not infer ecological or health outcomes from a policy or photograph.
Find help for your next step.
Want an organizing framework?
Moms Across America’s Toxin Free Town offers a local organizing framework.
Explore Toxin Free Town →Want a resident advocate pathway?
Explore Beyond Pesticides’ guidance for engaging local leaders and supporting follow-through.
Become a Parks Advocate →Want a public-land transition?
Beyond Pesticides’ program describes training around two public pilot sites. Check local-government consent, eligibility, and availability directly.
Explore Parks for a Sustainable Future →Organizing in the UK? Explore PAN UK’s guide →
Explore the supporting story, sources, and additional resources →
These are independent resources, not confirmed NFE partners or guaranteed referrals. UK guidance has a UK-specific context. Check current terms, geography, and capacity directly.
Tell us where your effort stands.
Send a brief introduction through Contact: your community, the type of place, your stage, and what you want to share. Do not send sensitive personal information.
Introduce a local effortStart with a short introduction. This contact option is not enrollment in a technical-assistance or funding program.
What we want to build next
A small first group of local efforts, dedicated consent-based intake, and documented follow-up stories are development plans—not open enrollment or promised services. We will describe collaborations only after agreement and seek appropriate permission before publishing personal details or private-site locations.
Questions before you begin.
Does pesticide-free mean leaving a place unmanaged?
No. This campaign calls for a planned system of prevention, ecological maintenance, appropriate expertise, staffing, and review—not neglect.
What about public-health concerns or difficult pest problems?
Seek qualified local advice and follow applicable requirements. Do not ignore urgent hazards. Evaluate methods and exceptions transparently; these tools do not replace site-specific professional advice.
Can renters and people without property participate?
Yes. You can ask questions, gather information, join a local effort, or discuss changes with a manager. Obtain permission before altering shared or rented property.
What if staff raise concerns about cost or workload?
Listen and include those constraints in the proposal. Ask what training, equipment, staffing, procurement, and funding a bounded pilot would require. Do not assume it will save money.
What can NFE currently provide?
This page offers educational action tools, independent resource links, and a way to introduce an effort. NFE’s role is storytelling, education, campaign development, and outreach—not site certification, legal advice, or pest-control services.
Where does a donation to NFE go?
It supports NFE’s own work, including research, storytelling, education, campaign development, outreach, and operating costs. It does not automatically fund featured organizations, their programs, or local pilots.
One Place. More Life.
More life begins with a place someone cares about.
A place to play. Soil worth caring for. Water worth protecting.
Start with a place you know. Help change how it is maintained—or support the NFE work that helps bring these possibilities into view.
Start with one placeSupport NFECampaign scope and transparency
The campaign is in development. NFE does not currently promise staffed coaching, technical review, referrals, funding, or publication of submissions. No pilot sites, formal partnerships, or outcomes are claimed here. We advocate pesticide-free shared landscapes and prevention-first, rodenticide-free management, with commitments, exceptions, and results described accurately. Seek qualified local advice for technical, public-health, legal, and regulatory questions. Participation is welcome without payment. External organizations remain independent; direct support to them is a separate choice through their official channels.