NY DEC sketches out plan for organic land care initiative

The NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) told key Green Industry leaders in that state that it is crafting an organic land care initiative to be called Green Organic Yards NY — Be Green, for short.

Mary Roy from the DEC, in an email to the leaders, wrote that Be Green will be a voluntary program with these primary goals:

— To establish a department framework for an organic land care approach and a means by which consumers can identify individuals or businesses who provide Be Green services and training.

— To develop a Department “agreement” (similar to a contract), which contains the consistent set of baseline conditions that Be Green practitioners must follow, including prohibited practices, training requirements and appropriate use of future Department Be Green service mark (logo).

—To develop a separate set of agreement conditions for Be Green training providers, including a course content outline, to which any practitioner or course provider wishing to participate in the Be Green initiative must adhere.

The DEC will be sending out a set of draft materials later this year and will be holding a meeting with an “outreach initial group” in the early part of 2010, according to an email Mary Roy sent to a group of Green Industry leaders.

After the Department completes development of Be Green, it would be officially launched sometime in 2010, the email said.