Brunswick workshop to launch possible pesticides, fertilizer ordinance

A free workshop at Crooker Theater will double as Brunswick’s opening move toward a possible townwide pesticide and fertilizer ordinance, a step that could affect how homeowners, landscapers and property managers treat lawns and gardens across town.

The Healthy Watersheds Workshop is scheduled for April 28 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The town says doors will open at 5 p.m., the headliner presentation will begin at 6 p.m., and registration is required. Complimentary refreshments will be served. Brunswick says the event will focus on healthy lawncare practices, watershed protection, pollution prevention, and pesticide and fertilizer management, with material from the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District and other local watershed initiatives.

Town materials say the workshop is co-hosted by the Town of Brunswick and the Brunswick Conservation Commission, and that it is intended to help kick off efforts to establish a more inclusive pesticides and fertilizer ordinance. The conservation commission’s mission includes promoting land conservation, protecting habitat and ecological values, providing educational outreach, and coordinating with town departments and local organizations on conservation efforts, placing the workshop squarely within a broader policy effort rather than a one-off presentation.

The ordinance conversation is not new. Brunswick residents began pushing for pesticide restrictions after a water conservation and rewilding law drew attention to local land-use rules, and Abbie Sewall of the Brunswick Conservation Commission was drafting a measure in 2024. By January 2025, town leaders were weighing a piecemeal approach and had set a March 3 public opportunity for comment. Planning documents later referenced proposed Shoreline Protection Ordinance restrictions on pesticides and fertilizers, along with zoning amendments modeled on Aquifer Protection Overlay language.

The stakes go beyond lawn aesthetics. Town planning materials link fertilizer, pesticide and herbicide runoff to waterways, noting that shellfish areas can be closed after as little as two inches of rain in 24 hours. That connection puts coastal water quality, shellfish protection and watershed health at the center of the Brunswick discussion.

Brunswick is also working within a state framework. Maine law requires municipalities to follow 22 MRSA Section 1471-U if they want to consider local pesticide ordinances, and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry keeps a list of municipal ordinances filed with the Board of Pesticides Control. Other Maine communities have already moved ahead, including Portland, which says its ordinance restricts synthetic pesticides on all public and private property except in limited circumstances. Friends of Casco Bay says Ogunquit became the first Maine town to ban outdoor pesticides on public and private land in 2015.

For Brunswick, the workshop marks a clear transition from education to policy-making, with the next round of public participation likely to shape how the town manages lawns, landscapes and runoff for years to come.