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 River & Road Cleanup with Save Our Shores: Watershed Festival of Events: On-going ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS Winter 2010–2011 River and Road Cleanup a “Success”
Volunteers at the Ben Lomond location: Laurie, Mark and Quinn Becker, Steven Patrick, April and Joni Martin. 135 volunteers from age 4 to over 75 participated in the Valley Women's Club's 24th Annual SLV River & Road Cleanup, supported by the expansion of the Coastal Cleanup up the River by Save Our Shores, and the coordination of the Felton morning effort by CORE (SLV Citizens Organized for Responsible Ecology), on Saturday, September 25th. Dedicated residents worked for hours to clean trash from the San Lorenzo River, its creeks, and the roads nearby. These folks brought out over 6,650 pounds of filthy trash, metal items, and recyclables back to two sites in Felton, one in Ben Lomond, and one in Boulder Creek. That's almost 1,000 pounds more than last year. With a combination of pride and horror, volunteers watched the piles grow, and load after load taken by the trucks provided by the County and the SLV Water District. Next year, the 25th Annual Cleanup will bring back the great BBQ celebration at Highlands Park to commemorate the event. You will want to come! The Wild World of FrogsA presentation by Dr. Kerry M. Kriger, February 5th
Image by Quinn Becker SAVE THE FROGS! Founder, Executive Director & Ecologist, Dr. Kerry Kriger, is coming to the February Environmental Committee meeting to give his engrossing presentation on "The Wild World of Frogs." The presentation, open to the public, will take place courtesy of the Mountain Parks Foundation at the Nature Center auditorium at Henry Cowell Park, on Hwy 9 in Felton, at 10:30, Saturday, February 5th. How many questions do you have about frogs? Have you wondered how long do frogs live? How many types of frogs are there? What's the difference between a frog and a toad? Why are frogs disappearing worldwide and what can be done to save them? (The good news is that we, as individuals CAN help.) Dr. Kriger answers all these questions and more as he introduces the audience to The Wild World of Frogs. The presentation features many of Dr. Kriger's extraordinary photos of amphibians from around the world, and there will be a question and answer session following the presentation. Dr. Kriger is the Founder & Executive Director of SAVE THE FROGS! (www.savethefrogs.com), America's first and only public charity dedicated to amphibian conservation. Dr. Kriger holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science from Griffith University in Gold Coast, Australia, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA. His scientific research focuses on the amphibian disease chytridiomycosis, a topic on which he has published 15 articles in peer-reviewed international scientific journals. His research into amphibian declines has been supported by the National Geographic Society, and various philanthropic organizations throughout the world, and he has presented the results of his research at scientific conferences in several countries. He is fluent in Spanish and conversant in Portuguese. He has climbed mountains in the Himalayas, Alps, Alaska Range, Southern Alps and the Andes, and is an avid photographer who has created calendars and posters featuring his wildlife photography. You won't want to miss this! Plan to come and bring family and friends; all ages welcome. Assemblymember Joins in Dialogue on the EnvironmentBill Monning's Second Annual Conversation and a New Book For the second year, the VWC Environmental Committee invited State Assemblymember Bill Monning to participate in a "Dialogue on the Environment," at Felton Community Hall. Ironically, the carefully chosen date ended up being the date of the first World Series Baseball Game, Wednesday, October 27th, so only 40 people attended. Even so, the event was a remarkable interchange of ideas and ideals, and Assemblymember Monning was open and articulate -- and practical -- in sharing his views, values and insights. Many who were there had never been at a VWC event before, and went out of their way to thank the Environmental Committee for providing this public service. They commented that they were very excited to actually discuss their own issues of concern in person with their legislator, in a welcoming and well-organized forum. Monning first gave his thoughts on the upcoming State Ballot Propositions and some other issues of general concern; then the audience Q&A began. Issues brought up for discussion included the following: legislation to block continued use of methyliodide (a nerve toxin strawberry growers are hoping to use in place of methylbromide, an ozone depletor) – Monning is well-informed about the health and environmental hazards of pesticides and herbicides; the enormous energy and financial costs of Santa Cruz City's desalinization plans; requiring habitat conservation plans for local water companies; the need for an oil extraction tax; requiring permeable asphalt for all State paving projects; PG&E's Smart Meters and the inability of the public to influence decisions being made by this powerful corporation; and the status of high speed rail. The exchange of ideas was very exciting! Monning, after thanking the VWC for the gathering, and visiting with individuals after the event, provided copies of his new book, Vision for a Healthy California, to members of the Environmental Committee who had worked to provide the program. The book discusses the challenges facing California and Monning's vision for the Economy, Small Business, Workers, Education, the Environment, Energy, Health and Security. The book gives specific "Prescriptions for Reform" that would enable major improvements to be made in the system of government. The book is available through his office. It is an excellent guide to our State's problems and some workable solutions. Monning and his staff are available to respond to your questions and concerns. The local phone number is 831/425-1503. Or go to Monning's State Assembly website. Many thanks to Mark Becker, Tai Stills and all those who helped with all the details of planning, set-up and clean-up, providing food and beverages, and getting the word out. Keep Your Butts Off the GroundCampaign to Raise Awareness About Cigarette Butt Hazards A team of Environmental Committee members, including Stephanie Sakasai, Mark Becker, Quinn Becker, Karen Burman and Nancy Macy, met in November to set the goals and timeline for a new campaign to motivate smokers to keep cigarette butts off the ground and out of the watershed. Having applied for a grant to help fund the campaign, from the Santa Cruz County Fish and Game Commission, the Committee will produce informational brochures, cartoons and information for a media campaign, purchase disposal receptacles for our SLV towns, hold a competition for the creation of eye-catching receptacles and enlist the support of the business community and Valley fire departments to help. The timing is good because Save Our Shores is focusing on keeping cigarette butts off of local beaches. The concern about cigarettes is not simply for the toxins concentrated in the butts that affect wildlife from deer (attracted by the nicotine) who graze on them at the side of the road and are hit by cars, to fish and other aquatic life who are sickened or killed by the chemicals, or swallow the butts and accumulate them in their digestive systems. (Whales, sharks, fish and sea birds have all been found with butts in their stomachs.) The millions of butts dropped worldwide are made of plastic fibers that join the horrific gyres of plastics circulating in our oceans, after being washed down our creeks and rivers into the Bay. It's a lot of fun coming up with slogans and catch-phrases for the campaign. Should we use the title of this article? Or, as SLV Middle School student Quinn Becker, helping with the campaign, suggested, "The butt stops here." We're creating mascots to symbolize those critters who are negatively impacted by the butts, so watch for them, and for the contest – you may want to participate! You can be involved in the campaign, so email or call the recycling center line 338-1728 with your ideas and offers to help! Environmental News of NoteTransition San Lorenzo Valley Presenting a Peak Oil/Sustainable Community Film Series; the January 7 film is "The Turning Point: a return to community". www.slvtransitions.ning.com Dam Removal on Rogue River Already Having Impact In three years, four dams have been breached in the Rogue basin (Oregon); now running free for 157 miles, the benefits to salmon are already being measured. Read More >> Coastal Watershed Council Brings Watershed Education to SLV Schools The Coastal Watershed Council (CWC), the City of Santa Cruz and San Lorenzo Valley Elementary and Middle Schools have teamed up to provide Kindergarten through 6th grade students a series of watershed-related lessons and activities. (CWC Newsletter 11/9/10, http://www.coastal-watershed.org/education) World Wildlife Fund Launches "Living Planet Report" WWF's 2010 edition of the Living Planet Report, published every two years, finds that "humanity's demands exceed our planet's capacity to sustain us." Broken down by countries, the report covers species diversity and how its loss affects us, and what you can do to alter your impact on the planet. Click here. Laundry Detergent Carcinogen One of the major issues being tackled by consumer watchdog groups this year is the presence of 1,4-dioxane, a synthetic petrochemical carcinogen, in consumer products. To determine if your laundry detergent contains it and to find out more, Click Here. VWC's Recycling on Earth 911 Check it out at http://earth911.com. Great New Guide to "Greening Storm Water Runoff" The Resource Conservation District has published an EXCELLENT manual to help home and business owners to solve their storm water runoff problems. Storm water, accelerated by impervious surfaces (buildings, walkways and roads), causes severe erosion, pollution and other problems in our steep and fragile watershed. This new manual, with excellent illustrations and photos, gives concrete guidelines of how to reduce the impacts of storm water, to protect your property and the environment. Contact the RCD for your free copy at 464-2950, or www.rcdsantacruz.org.
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