Edible weed eaters angry at council for spraying herbicide in park

Edible weed munchers fear they may have been poisoned after Moreland Council in Melbourne, Australia, sprayed their prized Jones Park patch. Adam Grubb, a weed and garden expert, said council workers indicated they used Bayer Spearhead to control weeds at the Brunswick East park, a spray that carried a two-week avoidance safety warning. Mr Grubb said it seemed unsafe that people were allowed in the park and in contact with the sprayed grass.

“According to the safety precautions, they should have shut down the park for two weeks,” he said. “When herbicides are used by the Merri Creek Management Committee along the creek, at least a blue dye is used and signs erected informing people to stay out of the area for several days. No such signs or dye were used in Jones Park, and presumably children were playing there later that day or even during the spraying.”



Mr Grubb said he was picking edible weeds in the park when he noticed some were showing signs of herbicide spray. Neighbour Liam Oakwood told him council workers had sprayed the park to kill broadleaf weeds. Mr Grubb said there were more than 15 types of edible wild food growing in the park, including mallow, dandelion, plantain, stork’s bill and oxalis. He said people picking these to eat could have ingested unsafe chemicals.

“(Weed picking) is not out of desperation, but for health and cultural reasons,” he said. “For a lot of people from migrant backgrounds, it is a way of connecting to their traditions and their home.” Moreland Mayor Meghan Hopper said the council used selective herbicide to control weeds and adhered to strict safety procedures when spraying, with signs present while work took place. She said the herbicide used would not harm park users who touched it. Cr Hopper said the council did not plant edible plants or trees in public spaces and discouraged eating plants on public land.