Thank the Washington State Capitol Grounds Crew

NeilHarrisOlympiaCapitolMustCredit.jpg
(photo courtesy Neil Harris, taken March 31, 2017)

Thank you for your interest, but we have closed signatures and delivered them to the Olympia Capitol groundskeepers. See press coverage of this effort here and here!

You can send your own thank you note to the following address:

Brent Chapman and Staff
Washington State Department of Enterprise Services
PO Box 41401
Olympia, WA 98504-1401

Thank you, groundskeepers!

In response to ‘dandelion-gate,’ when senators spent over 20 minutes discussing and complaining about the presence of dandelions on the Olympia Capitol Campus grounds, we’ve written a thank you note to the hardworking grounds crew staff. They have been trying so hard to keep up with all the spring flowers without using pesticides! The Capitol crew has been experimenting with natural and sustainable landscaping, including organic weed control, repurposed compost and leaves used to enrich and activate soils, cardboard and wood chip layers used to suppress unwanted growth, and planting drought tolerate native plants for habitat. These changes make the area a safe and healthy environment for everyone!

Please sign this virtual thank you card and share with friends on social media. We will collect signatures until May 8, 2017 and then deliver to the groundskeeping staff.

dandeliontycard.jpgThe Capitol campus is noticeably full of spring flowers, healthy grass and historic trees!

We appreciate the hard work of the campus grounds crew and the landscapers, horticulturists, arborists, weed pullers, garbage collectors, custodians, and all the workers who take care of Olympia’s incredible and picturesque campus grounds.

Your natural and sustainable efforts make the area a safe and healthy environment for everyone–from senators to pollinators to kids to fish downstream. We appreciate your forward thinking, implementing new landscaping and turf care that reflects our values to end a reliance on harmful chemical pesticides.

Thank you to the hardworking crew at the capitol!

431 signatures

Showing 400 reactions

  • Rob Fukai
    signed 2017-05-06 23:47:55 -0700
    They have always always done the best they could within their contol. Criticism should be directed at those who allocate resources. Legislature should provide resources and management should make it happen!
  • Nathaniel Jones
    signed 2017-05-06 23:11:53 -0700
    Thank you for your good work.
  • Lee Ann Gekas
    signed 2017-05-06 22:47:56 -0700
    LeeAnn Gekas
  • Eva Webb
    signed 2017-05-06 22:25:15 -0700
    Keep up the great work!
  • Karen Janowitz
    signed 2017-05-06 22:11:40 -0700
    I truly appreciate your work to take care of the grounds without pesticides. It is so important for many reasons to not spread pesticide chemicals through our environment, and especially to keep them off of the children who visit the Capital. Thank you!
  • Marlene Inverso
    signed via 2017-05-06 21:29:30 -0700
    Marlene Inverso
  • Kenneth Hill
    signed via 2017-05-06 18:59:58 -0700
  • Julie Rosmond
    signed via 2017-05-06 17:45:57 -0700
    Thanks so much. I hope working on this landscape gives you even a fraction of the enjoyment that your work gives to us!
  • Teri Clay-Poole
    signed 2017-05-06 16:46:32 -0700
    Let’s keep our state capitol green and pesticide free; without bees we are looking at a very bleak future.
  • Michelle Jackson
    signed via 2017-05-06 15:17:34 -0700
    Thank you for taking such wonderful care of our beautiful campus! As a (non certified) organic farmer myself, I can truly appreciate how much extra work it takes to keeps weeds and other troublemakers in check when opting out of using harsh chemical treatments. Thank you for your forward thinking and all your hard work!
  • Erin Kershisnik
    signed via 2017-05-06 12:22:57 -0700
    Thanks Mary!!!
  • L Sunde
    signed 2017-05-06 11:39:12 -0700
  • Vicki Turnbow
    signed 2017-05-06 10:43:30 -0700
    Thank you for not using poisons in your work.
  • Melissa Bren
    posted about this on Facebook 2017-05-06 08:14:37 -0700
    Sign the Card: Thank the Washington State Capitol Grounds Crew
  • Melissa Bren
    @3Brenboys tweeted link to this page. 2017-05-06 08:14:34 -0700
    Sign the Card: Thank the Washington State Capitol Grounds Crew http://www.pesticide.org/thank_capitol_grounds_crew?recruiter_id=109364
  • Melissa Bren
    signed 2017-05-06 08:13:28 -0700
    Thank you for being awesome!
  • Diane Bren
    signed 2017-05-06 08:12:23 -0700
    Thank you for all your hard work. We appreciate the work you do, especially with a reduced staff size.
  • Kathi Steele
    signed 2017-05-06 05:02:10 -0700
    Thank you for all your hard dedicated work. The senators need to get a life. They have too much time & not enough work to put their noses where they don’t need to be. The grounds look beautiful. Great job your doing!
  • Brooke Wickham
    posted about this on Facebook 2017-05-06 00:07:37 -0700
    Sign the Card: Thank the Washington State Capitol Grounds Crew
  • Brooke Wickham
    signed 2017-05-06 00:07:07 -0700
    Thank you for your hard work and for trying some more sustainable landscaping practices!
  • Patricia Chupa
    signed 2017-05-05 23:38:48 -0700
  • Sherri Bentley
    signed 2017-05-05 23:11:14 -0700
    Sherri Bentley
  • Ruth Apter
    signed 2017-05-05 23:07:50 -0700
    Ruth Apter- The age of using poisons has come to an end as we know the legacy this leaves us with our poisoned streams and poisoned Puget Sound. Thank you all for doing such a great job with so little. Thank you for being great stewards and creating such beauty.
  • Charles Moore
    signed 2017-05-05 21:03:13 -0700
    I think y’all do a very good, professional job.
  • Jj L.
    signed 2017-05-05 19:18:08 -0700
    I do not know much of your practices, but I will take it from this group, you are honoring the earth, the plants, the worms, and the lifecycle. If you are NOT using pesticides and herbicides on the public lawns….I am FOR you! I love dandelions, they are an eyesore only for those who know nothing of their value. If we were eating all those dandelion greens and roots, we would be healthier, immuno-strengthened, and vital! It is a form of ignorance to speak against the dandelion, one of our hardiest and most valuable plant friends.

    Thank you groundskeepers, for the beauteous and good work you do on behalf of the grounds. I do wish, however, that with all that expanse, all that lawn, we could have more flower gardens, perennials, native bushes and plants. It seems like so much GRASS, not a natural phenom. Is there a rose garden on site? I wish the greenhouse was still full of plants, rather than boarded up for years and years, looking bereft. I remember the old Christmas cactus that was something like 100 years old, if I’m remembering correctly?

    Ah, well…..keep up the work that honors the bees, the trees, and all. NO pesticides. NO herbicides. No Round-Up….EVER.

    Thank you!!
  • Sharon Versteeg
    signed 2017-05-05 17:26:06 -0700
    Sharon l Versteeg
  • Mac McKay
    signed 2017-05-05 16:55:38 -0700
  • Rick Perry
    signed 2017-05-05 16:25:14 -0700
  • Venys Prestidge
    signed 2017-05-05 15:48:39 -0700
    I am continually amazed at how beautiful our State Capitol grounds are! From plant selection, to layout/ organization, to maintenance… It’s gorgeous!


    The building and grounds crew do an amazing job, especially considering how they’ve maintained with such a drastic budget reduction, and dealing with our inclement weather this spring.


    Kudos to each of you !! You deserve to feel immensely proud of your team’s efforts!


    Sincerely,

    Venys Prestidge
  • Bruce Abbotts
    signed 2017-05-05 15:44:00 -0700
    I think it is great for the capital grounds keepers to be setting the standards by trying to avoid using pesticides that have potential harm to our children and our environment. Thank you