JANUARY 8, 2026

The City of Dubuque Parks and Recreation Department is partnering with Beyond Pesticides to adopt organic land management practices at two City parks, Jackson Park and Washington Park, with funding for technical support from Natural Grocers. The initiative aims to enhance soil health, reduce water usage, and create safer public spaces, while also addressing climate change and biodiversity issues.

Beyond Pesticides, through the Parks for a Sustainable Future nationwide program, collaborates with communities across the country to transition parks, playing fields, and public spaces to organic land management by providing in-depth training to assist community land managers in transitioning public demonstration sites and the knowledge necessary to eventually transition all public areas in a locality to these safer practices. These demonstration sites serve as models for how sustainable land management is possible without synthetic, petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers, showcasing the benefits of organic practices while addressing potential challenges in a manageable and cost-effective way.

“We are excited to be working with the City of Dubuque on organic land management practices that protect community health and the environment, including bees, butterflies, and birds, and support efforts to mitigate climate change and biodiversity decline,” said Jay Feldman, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. “Organic practices eliminate fossil fuel petroleum-based products and sequester atmospheric carbon in the soil, combating the climate crisis.”

The City of Dubuque Parks and Recreation Department maintains over 2,300 acres of parks and open space, including more than 50 parks and areas of prairie and oak savannah restoration, pollinator habitat, and wetlands. The City has been reducing its use of synthetic pesticides in City parks since 2016 when the City adopted an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program. The City currently has 15 pesticide-free parks and does not apply pesticides to most grass turf areas in the city (“turf” is considered all regularly mowed grass areas of parks). The Parks for a Sustainable Future program focuses on turf management and the use of organic fertilizers. The Parks for a Sustainable Future initiative introduces holistic organic land care that emphasizes building resilient soils and healthy park ecosystems throughout the City’s two demonstration parks while eliminating synthetic pesticides and fertilizers.

“We look forward to working with Beyond Pesticides in these two iconic Dubuque parks,” said City of Dubuque Parks Division Manager Steve Fehsal. “This is a great opportunity for our staff to increase their understanding of how healthy soil and organic management can give us great parks without petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides.”

In 2022, the City of Dubuque began exploring a partnership with Beyond Pesticides through the Good Neighbor Iowa Program, which works with Beyond Pesticides in statewide outreach and education, helping communities and families understand the health and environmental benefits of organic land care and the public health risks from synthetic pesticides. The Parks and Recreation Department, alongside Sustainable Dubuque, is building on the City’s long legacy of environmental leadership. Now, with the adoption of organic land management practices in two city parks, Dubuque and Beyond Pesticides are furthering this vision – fostering greener, healthier, and more sustainable urban spaces for future generations.

In partnership with Osborne Organics, Beyond Pesticides aims through the program to further shift from petrochemical weed killers and other potential pesticide use to organic practices that rely on methods and products that support soil biology and microbial life in the soil. This approach, used in organic agriculture, naturally produces nutrients for plants, resulting in more resiliency, a reduction in water use, lower costs, and safer spaces for children, pets, pollinators, and the entire community – all while supporting long-term savings and environmental health.