Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Mission: The Valley Women’s Club is dedicated to community action, awareness and leadership in environmental, educational, social, and political concerns that affect the health and welfare of the San Lorenzo Valley and our community.
Environmental CommitteeThe Environmental Committee works to protect the watershed and to educate the public on forestry issues, erosion control, hazardous waste, recycling and other issues. We also monitor government policies and procedures. Events Roadside Cleanup, Highways 9 and 236: Quarterly ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS Fall 2009 SAVE OUR WATER  Volunteers from last year’s successful River & Road Clean-up The 23rd Annual River & Road Clean-up is moving to Saturday, September 19th, from its traditional second weekend in October, to join in with Save Our Shores’ annual Coastal Clean-up! In order to bring to public consciousness the tie between the SLV watershed and the health of the ocean, we are joining together to emphasize the importance of preventing SLV trash from washing down the River to the Bay. During the 2008 Coastal Clean-up last September, Save Our Shores had two collection points along the River; one at Felton’s Covered Bridge Park, and one at the Garden of Eden swimming site down river, involving several dozen volunteers and many thousands of pieces of trash removed and counted. A month later in October, the VWC’s 22nd Annual River & Road Clean-up focused on Felton again, as well as on Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek, finding three thousand pounds of litter, appliances, mattresses and other trash in and near the River to dispose of. The two non-profits decided to join forces for 2009 and are working closely; data on the trash gathered before noon will be added to the Save Our Shores’ statistics for the International Coastal Cleanup that our River Cleanup is now a part of. VOLUNTEERING: Volunteers are invited to check in starting at 9 am at the Felton Covered Bridge Park, or on Hwy 9 at Fillmore St. in Ben Lomond, or at the SLV Redemption/Recycling Center behind the Village Wash & Dry in Boulder Creek, to help with the Cleanup. Volunteers are encouraged to come any time, all day from 9 to 3, to help, but after 12-noon in Felton, folks should come to Hihn St. by Rite Aid to sign in, to return trash, or to bring large items for transport, so the Park may be tidied up and returned to recreational use. The Ben Lomond and Boulder Creek sites will operate from 9 to 3 as usual, with the 9 to 12 effort tallied for SOS. VWC Board Member, Karen Burman will Captain for Ben Lomond. The morning effort at the Covered Bridge Park will be Captained by Beth Hollenbeck of CORE, whose enthusiastic volunteers did a powerful clean up job for last year’s SOS Clean-up and plan to do so again this year, with VWC volunteers joining in. A Captain is needed for Boulder Creek (see details below), and a second volunteer is needed for each shift. Along with individuals and families, non-profit groups, schools, church groups, Scouts, and clubs are encouraged to come work together for the River and the Bay. Students can earn Community Service credit for the hours they put in too. Volunteers are encouraged to bring cars and trucks to help transport materials to the three pick-up points. Bring gloves and wear sturdy shoes and readily visible clothing. The Valley Women’s Club will staff the sign-in tables/drop-off sites, provide trash bags and latex gloves, suggest cleanup locations, and offer free drinks, snacks and prizes for all volunteers. Details: Volunteers are needed to train as Captains on Thursday, September 10th from 6 to 7:30 pm at the Simpkins Swim Center. We need at least two more Captains – for the Garden of Eden, and for the Boulder Creek recycling center sites from 9 to noon. Email Emily Glanville or call Emily at 831.462.5660 ext. 5, to volunteer to be a Captain. More staffers needed for all shifts too. If you know of a place needing special attention during the clean up, or for additional information, please contact VWC Director of Recycling, Nancy Macy, at 338-1728, or 345-1555. Note: we realize that there is a LOT going on that Saturday. The VWC’s own Sandhills Nature Walk (see below) is that day, along with Mountain Parks Foundation’s Ohlone Day at Henry Cowell Park, among other things. Perhaps you can devote an hour or two to the Cleanup before joining in on another event… The River sure needs it!
After a morning of meeting with individual constituents at Mountain Community Resources, our new State Assemblymember, Bill Monning, came to Felton Community Hall for a conversation on the environment, at the behest of the VWC’s Environmental Committee for the SLV. Attendees perused the extensive displays and information, enjoyed the tasty refreshments, and after a few minutes mingling with folks, Monning was introduced and began his remarks on some of the environmental issues the State is dealing with that we in the SLV are deeply impacted by. Monning discussed the impact of the severely stressed budget on a wide range of those issues, including the possible closure of our State Parks and reductions in staff for agencies such as the Department of Fish & Game. He pointed out that the goal had been a “sensible, moral and humane” budget, which, of necessity, would include some ways to increase revenue (such as a $15 addition to car registration fees for State Parks), but a minority of the legislature had veto power over that and even more harsh cuts were forced instead. His comments covered the recent fire, recycling, salmon, and more. Then, for over an hour, residents addressed questions and concerns to Monning. The audience was respectful and attentive as person after person approached the mike to discuss climate change, stimulus funding for watershed preservation, hunting deer to reduce their impact (and not allowing deer hunting), invasive non-native plants, emergency preparedness, expanding the circle of people getting involved, funding regulatory agencies, supporting the legislation for an Open Space Initiative for Santa Cruz County, doing a fire assessment of the State Parks, the problems with concentrating affordable housing in areas with inadequate water, sewer and other infrastructure needs, getting urban areas to be aware of the water crisis, and the fear mongering too often perpetrated on the public for political gains. It was a great group of questions! Monning answered openly and thoughtfully, as his staff took detailed notes and passed out business cards to those who wanted further interaction with the Assemblymember. He brought up several important issues in his responses, including the possibility of mandating that ballot propositions include the funding source as part of the proposal if it involved expenditures of public monies. He discussed the Invasive Species Council (a part of State Agriculture) and suggested they be contacted about the local problems we have. Comments from attendees as they left indicated that they appreciated the event and that it was extremely well organized. The food was appreciated too. One gentleman from Bonny Doon said that it was “a class act.” Many thanks to Tai Stills for organizing all the details for the event, and to the many VWC volunteers who helped bring displays and supplies, set up, and clean up, including Nancy Macy, MaryJo Walker, Carol Carson, and Cathleen O’Connell – and to the nice attendees who stayed to help stack chairs. Very special thanks to Lake Barnett for setting up the PA equipment that was on loan from the SLV Museum, and to Anne Barnett for helping unload the cars and set up chairs. Tai was able to bring in some significant donations for the event, finding that businesses were willing to help bring people into contact with their government representatives. Odwalla donated $360 worth of their wonderful juice drinks; Pacific Cookie Company provided $144 worth of cookies; New Leaf Market in Felton provided snacks valued at $25, and individuals brought flowers, snacks, tea and ice, saving the Environmental Committee’s budget even more. We are very grateful to learn that Assemblymember Monning, assisted by his thoughtful and intelligent staff members, is both interested in and responsive to the concerns of his constituents in this corner of his District, especially since he is the first Assemblymember in at least two decades who is not from Santa Cruz County. You can reach him, or find out what he is dealing with in Sacramento, by calling his office in Santa Cruz (425-1503). SLV Watershed Nature Walks with Expert Leaders One of the priorities for the Environmental Committee this year was to offer Watershed nature walks again. Thanks to a grant from the SLV Water District, Carol Carson has organized a series of walks while researching and writing an informative column (published in the Press/Banner) to introduce the topic and the expert leading each one. Hopefully you have seen the news articles or email reminders about the Spring and Summer walks we have already had, and joined the people who have gone exploring with a geologist, redwood ecologist or fishery biologist. Put the last two walks on your calendar and watch for Carol’s columns for lots of fascinating information. Secret Sandhills Nature Walk, Jodi McGraw, Sandhills Expert and Ecologist @ Quail Hollow Park, Sept., 19 Birds of the San Lorenzo Valley Nature Walk, David Suddjian, Bird Expert @ Quail Hollow Park, Oct 17 Clarification on Disposing of Old Smoke Detectors We mentioned in the last VWC newsletter that most home smoke detectors contain a small amount of radioactive material that makes them unsafe to toss in the trash. When you have a smoke detector that you’re ready to retire, we encouraged you to return it to the manufacturer because the manufacturer is mandated by law to dispose of the radioactive waste at a nuclear waste disposal facility. The entire smoke detector, minus the batteries, should be returned to the manufacturer or store by UPS ground mail (not airmail). We mentioned that, as an alternative, you could take old detectors to the county’s hazardous waste disposal site. This turns out to be incorrect. We have since learned that none of the dumps or recycling agencies in Santa Cruz County is set up to handle radioactive waste of any kind, so mailing it to the manufacturer is your only option. Ready for an El Niño Winter? Could our drought, now in its third year, be coming to an end this winter? We have not experienced a significant El Niño event for more than a decade but all the data collected over the past several months is indicating some form of El Niño event is on its way. Last month federal weather researchers predicted moderate-to-strong El Niño conditions for this winter, with temperatures in the Pacific rising to levels not seen since 2002, and perhaps approaching those of 1997-98. That was the year we got double our normal rainfall, causing flooding, mud slides, and power outages. While the El Niño now under way doesn’t guarantee that California will get inundated this winter, the stronger the conditions and the warmer the water, the more likely we are to have an unusually rainy winter. In more moderate El Niño years, rainfall sometimes is above normal, but just as often below. El Niño conditions also have dramatic effects on fish, whales, birds, sea lions and other species. As the warm water from the equator moves north in an ocean current along California, fishermen start catching fish normally found only in warmer areas, such as striped marlin off San Francisco, and a species of tuna normally found in San Diego being caught off Monterey. On the negative side, all that warm water can limit something called upwelling, in which cold ocean water filled with plankton and other nutrients is pushed to the surface, providing food for birds, fish and other marine life. Hundreds of young sea lions that have washed ashore along the Central coast this summer malnourished or dead might be the first victims of this year’s El Niño, according to Dan Costa, a professor of ecology at UCSC. As you plan for the winter, be sure erosion control measures are in place! Check Out THIS Website! If you have a favorite website that may be of interest to the readers of the VWC Newsletter. Send it to Co-Editor, Nancy Macy, with a description and why you like it. |
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Monning Addresses Environmental Issues
