NEWTON Abbot residents have been showing their support for a healthier environment by ‘planting’ special signs denoting that their garden is pesticide free.

The signs, provided free-of-charge by Green Futures Newton Abbot, have been adopted my several householders across the Bradley area.

The scheme was supported financially by Devon county councillor Phil Bullivant.

Cllr Bullivant said: ‘This is an easy step that any household in Newton Abbot can take to show their support for our local pollinators and for a healthier environment for everyone.

‘We all need to work together now as a community in order to ensure that our natural world is intact for future generations to have a good quality of life.’

In 2022, Green Futures Newton Abbot, with the support of the Devon Environment Foundation and Newton Abbot Town Council, launched the Bradley Bug Recovery Network to begin measuring pollinator levels at key monitoring sites across the Bradley area of town.

Through this work it became clear that in addition to improving habitat for pollinators, there was also a need to reduce the impacts caused by garden and landscape pesticide use.

In 2023, Newton Abbot Town Council declared that it would no longer be using pesticide products to manage the areas of land that it is responsible for and in Spring 2024 Green Futures began the Pesticide – Free Bradley Initiative to work with local residents to reduce and transition away from pesticide use.

The first ever kerbside collection of household pesticides in the U.K was offered in Bradley in October 2024, collecting 140 kg of pesticide materials and alongside this, the pesticide-free garden signs were offered to local residents free of charge.

One such resident who has taken up a sign is Richard Paisey.

Richard said: ‘We were delighted to hear about the Big Bradley Pesticide Collection because it helped us safely dispose of unwanted pesticide products that had been stored in ours and a neighbours shed for years.

‘We made the decision to stop using these harmful chemicals and have now been planting native plants that provide more nectar resources for pollinators.

‘We were only too pleased to show our support for this important work by putting up a pesticide-free sign in our garden.’

Andrew Rothery, the Co-ordinator of Green Futures, said ‘The Pesticide–Free Bradley initiative has been a real success.

‘We have collected and safely disposed of a significant amount of pesticides and local residents across the area are telling us that they are now using non-toxic approaches to managing their gardens.

‘We will continue to monitor our local pollinator levels and improve habitat, but if we can let go of pesticide-use, our local community will be a safer place for humans and wildlife alike.’

The signs are available to all residents in Newton Abbot.

To request your free sign, visit www.pesticidefreebradley.co.uk or email [email protected]