THE GREAT HEALTHY YARD PROJECT - ONE SIMPLE THING WE CAN ALL DO TO GIVE OUR CHILDREN A HEALTHY FUTURE.

The Great Healthy Yard Projects is an environmental non-profit organization working to improve and protect the quality of our drinking water in order to help our families lead healthier lives.

 

VISION
 
Our goal is beautiful yards without synthetic chemicals. The more people who pledge, the cleaner our drinking water will be.
 
WHAT WE DO
 
Residential, non-point source pollution is the most widespread water quality problem facing our country. The chemicals that we put on our yards and down our drains end up in our drinking water. They are not removed by routine water treatment and are also in bottled water. These chemicals are damaging the health of our families, causing increases in Autism, ADHD, diabetes and cancer.
 
We are offering a simple solution – stop using these chemicals so they don’t wind up in our drinking water. We are spreading awareness of this problem by educating people about the scientific basis for this concern, to drive action.
 
We are measuring the number of people who are participating by asking them to take a pledge to protect their drinking water by not using synthetic pesticides, weedkillers, and fertilizers, on their yards and gardens except for localized use on rare occasions to resolve an infestation and protect native plants and wildlife, and also not disposing of pharmaceuticals or chemicals down the drain.
 
WHO WE ARE
 
Diane Lewis, M.D. is founder of non-profit organization The Great Healthy Yard Project and the author of its sister book, The Great Healthy Yard Project.
 
Lewis is an internist and a nephrologist, licensed to practice medicine in New York State. Lewis has combined her knowledge of medicine with her love of the environment to become involved in a movement to protect our most valuable resources as well as our own health.
 
In her hometown of Bedford NY, Lewis is a member of the Bedford Garden Club, and serves on the Town of Bedford Planning Board and the Town of Bedford Open Space Acquisition Committee. She was a Board member and chair of the Water and Land Use Task Force of Bedford 2020, a non-profit tasked with forming a liaison between the community and local government to implement the town of Bedford, New York’s Climate Action Plan, for nine years, and a Board member of Audubon New York for six years.
 
As an environmental activist, she has embraced education as a means for implementing change. Lewis created The Great Healthy Yard Project to draw attention to a growing problem in our country that often times goes unnoticed. She has dedicated her work to teaching others in nuanced terms how chemicals end up in our drinking water, and what affects they have on our bodies, as well as teaching alternative ways to take care of our lawns and gardens without harmful chemicals. A free lance journalist, Lewis has written oped pieces in regional and national papers, and speaks frequently about how to protect water quality.
 
HONORS
 
Region 2 Environmental Champion Award 2016
The Environmental Protection Agency
 
Conservation Award 2016
The Garden Club of America Zone III
 
The Advocate Award
Environmental Advocates of New York
 
IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award Silver Medal 2015
Home and Garden Books
 
Mom on a Mission June Finalist 2014
Healthy Child, Healthy World
 
Conservation Award 2014
Bedford Garden Club
 

Take The Pledge

I pledge to take care of my yard without synthetic pesticides, weedkillers and fertilizers except on rare occasions to resolve an infestation or to improve habitat for native plants and wildlife.

I also pledge not to throw pharmaceuticals or chemicals down my drains or toilets.



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©The Great Healthy Yard Project. I pledge to take care of my yard without synthetic pesticides, weedkillers and fertilizers except on rare occasions to resolve an infestation or to improve habitat for native plants and wildlife. I also pledge not to throw pharmaceuticals or chemicals down my drains or toilets.