The meadow in October
The photo above is of my neighbor’s wildflower meadow in October. You can see the milkweed is dispersing its seed, and rudbeckia now predominates. There are a few gallardia here and there, but that’s about it.
Earlier this summer, I wrote about my complaint to the RI Department of Environmental Management, after a tree company sprayed the apple trees in the meadow, as well as all the pollinators it had attracted, and my birdbath and vegetable garden.
(OK folks, let’s plant a wildflower meadow to lure the pollinators and then kill them all with toxic chemicals. What were they thinking???????)
I explained that I had decided to give the bureaucratic system a chance, so I duly registered my complaint, which required a lengthy interview with the investigator, and waited to see if anything would happen.
Weeks went by and I heard nothing from the investigator. Finally, I telephoned her and she informed me that she had no way to confirm the wind speed the day of the spraying. This is key, because it was far too windy for the company to be spraying that day and the wind carried the chemicals into my yard.
I had checked the windsurfing site my husband subscribes to and recorded the wind speed at the time of the spraying. The investigator emailed me to say she was unable to gather wind data from that day, and could I please give her the windsurfing website URL so she could check with them. The last communication I had from her was that she had not been able to access the site. Don’t you think it’s strange that a plant pathologist investigating a case for the state can’t obtain something as basic as wind speed data?
So there you have it. Case apparently closed. This was an ineffectual, and in my opinion, pathetic effort on the part of RIDEM. As for the “system,” I’m sorry I even bothered.
Digging RI 
Does your local paper have a proactive environmentalist who can find the information that the “investigator” can’t? Sometimes that can work wonders.
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No one like that in these parts – except for me…I happen to be a newspaper reporter!
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You’re setting the right example so keep ‘fighting back’.
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OK let’s think laterally. Can you rally the windsurfers to your cause? If only that the RIDEM needs their help to find out about wind speed! Tee hee NOT ;~((
Formal complaint on record to the tree company?
And very curious about your interaction with your neighbour? We’ve never even tried to battle the Agent Orange neighbours. We had to get the municipality to insist that we could use the municipal servitude to run our sewerage line along the boundary of their property.
Do you have one of those Habitat for Wildlife signs up? Maybe an open garden with volunteers who think like us? You and I will keep a virtual corridor open for the pollinators.
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The entire situation is ridiculous and pathetic. I now realize that there is no effective protection from pesticides. None.
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Well you gave it your best, but obviously the department wasn’t able to do the same.
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That’s for sure. Makes me wonder what else they don’t act on….
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They do as they wish when thay think no one is watching. The next time they may be more thoughtful.
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