Organic Garden Planted for Congress Street Firefighters

Fairfield political activist and attorney Tara Cook-Littman decided to plant an organic garden for the Congress Street Firehouse in order to show her gratitude to the Firefighters and to highlight the importance of eating organic. "These firefighters helped my son eleven years ago and so this firehouse has a special place in my heart. I wanted to do something locally in addition to raising my voice in Hartford," said Tara Cook-Littman.

Cook-Littman has spent the past few months actively trying to pass a bill in the Connecticut legislature to ban the use of the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos. That bill is currently making its way through the state legislature HB #7346, known as AN ACT PROHIBITING THE USE OF CERTAIN ORGANOPHOSPHATES. All three Fairfield State Representatives are co-sponsors of the bill including Cristin McCarthy Vahey, Laura Devlin and Brenda Kupchick.

According to Kaiser Health News, "Several studies have linked prenatal exposure of chlorpyrifos to lower birth weights, lower IQs, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other developmental issues in children. But the federal EPA in 2017 ignored the conclusions of its scientists and rejected a proposal made during the Obama administration to ban its use in fields and orchards." New York, California and Hawaii have all taken steps to ban Chlorpyrifos.

Lieutenant Bill Tuttle helped Tara put together the garden.

"The Fairfield Firefighters IAFF LOCAL 1426 has made a commitment to the health and wellness of our members. The care and maintenance of our members is an investment that pays dividends to the hard working taxpayers of Fairfield. We can perform up to their expectations. Every bit of time and money put into this effort has exponential monetary returns, decreased missed time from work, faster injury recovery and decreased health insurance costs," stated Lieutenant Bill Tuttle, President of IAFF Local 1426.

"Last fiscal year the Fire Dept had a decrease in our insurance costs at a time when everyone else is seeing 10-15% increases. This is directly related to our health and wellness program. The garden is an extension of that program. What makes this more exciting is it is a partnership with our neighbors. Tara came and put this together with our members. We love being part of the community and enjoying fun moments. All too often we only meet our neighbors during tragedies. This garden allows us to share our time in a positive and productive way. We can't thank Tara enough." added Lieutenant Tuttle.

Cook-Littman knows the fate of the chlorpyrifos ban bill us uncertain with the legislative session nearing an end next week, but vows to continue fighting to ban Chlorpyrifos and educate her friends and neighbors about how to make healthier choices. She and Lieutenant Tuttle invite the community to come visit the garden. They hope to add more garden boxes in the future if this one works.