By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Hey there, gardener, is your lawn free of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers? If so, the Ballard-based Puget Sound Chapter of the American Cetacean Society and other environmental groups want you to tell the world - or at least your neighbors.

"Wait, I don't even know what a cetacean is," you might say, "much less do I understand what it has to do with my yard."

A cetacean is a whale, dolphin or porpoise, one of the many types of sea life that can be adversely affected by chemical-packed run-off water draining into water bodies like Puget Sound. The good news is, you don't have to knock on doors to let your neighbors know that your lawn isn't killing these gentle cetaceans and neither should theirs - you can simply post a small green yard sign, which reads "whale friendly lawn," and provides enough follow up information that passers-by will know to stick to the organic isle when shopping for garden products.

The yard sign is the brainchild of Joe Olson, president of the Puget Sound chapter of the American Cetacean Society, and Michael Kundu, founder of Project SeaWolf, both non-profits dedicated to preservation of marine life and habitat.

Kundu produced a yard sign in 2000 which emphasized protecting salmon. This fall, Olson suggested creating a similar sign for whales and with the sponsorship of other groups including the Great Whales Foundation, the Whaleman Foundation and Mosquito Fleet Charters, Olson and Kundu did just that. So far, Olson said, over half of the 2,000 signs printed have been distributed, mostly at farmer's markets in Ballard, the U-District and West Seattle. Olson said posting the signs makes people feel like they're doing something to help whales.

The project has been successful enough that a second printing of the signs next spring has already been planned. There will likely be one small change however: the signs will probably specify that only chemical fertilizers should be avoided. Organic products, Olson said, are just fine.

For information on the yard signs, call the American Cetacean Society at 297-1310. For information about organic gardening, call the Seattle Tilth Association at 633-0451. b