My dog, Mowgli, suffered severe neurological issues after being exposed to herbicides at our local park. I still feel a knot in my stomach when I think about the children who run across that same grass every afternoon. What will this exposure do to them long term? Has it already affected their health?

When we talk about protecting the environment, we’re often told to avoid plastic straws, recycle, or bike to work - but what about the chronic, often invisible exposure to urban pesticides? These chemicals are sprayed in our parks, schools, and neighborhoods, often without our knowledge or consent.

For many of us, the reality of this exposure only becomes clear when our pets or families start to suffer. I’ve heard too many stories – children with asthma attacks, mysterious rashes, and dogs dying of seizures on freshly treated park grass.

Years after my own high-level exposure to glyphosate, my son was born prematurely at 33 weeks. It forced me to confront the unsettling question: how much of our health is being silently compromised by the chemicals we unknowingly encounter every day?

My mission is to raise awareness, demand transparency, and fight for the right to live in communities free from these hidden harms. Together, we can make a difference.