We spent the first two weeks of this childhood cancer prevention campaign talking to home gardeners and pregnant mothers… golfers, it’s your turn! Ever wonder how the courses you love maintain such green, weed-free grass? Unfortunately, behind those highly manicured greens are a whole assortment of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and synthetic fertilizers.
Aside from the danger these chemical inputs pose to the golf course workers applying them and the golfers that use the course, these chemicals can drift onto neighboring properties and harm the children and people living nearby.
If you might remember, Mikey absolutely loved to golf. One of the highlights of Mikey’s short life was making the NNHS Boy’s Golf team where he got to be out on the course with his friends and away from any reminders of his illness. Additionally, Michael’s family lives right next to a golf course where pesticide drift and run-off could have easily made its way into their yard. Of course, there is no telling what caused Mikey’s cancer, however, we, as family members, friends, and neighbors, have the ability and responsibility to take active care of our children and the environment they grow up in. To some, that could mean advocating for your local golf course to drastically reduce or eliminate their chemical inputs. Check out Beyond Pesticides toolkit to “green your local course” and see examples of golf courses that have gone chemical-free. #PreventChildhoodCancer #Mighty4Mikey
