Environmental Committee

The 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:
September 2011 • TBD
View 2010 flyer for more information.

Watershed Festival of Events: On-going

ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS

Summer 2011

The Butt Stops Here!

Make a Cigarette Butt Receptacle Contest Starts the Campaign: www.thebuttstopshere.org

Cigarette butts don't just cause wildfires, they are unsightly, poisonous litter on our town sidewalks and roadsides that end up in local creeks and the River, harming fish and amphibians; they are then washed into the ocean where the plastic mimics food, injuring and killing wildlife. The VWC Environmental Committee has started an extensive campaign to reduce cigarette litter by increasing awareness of these problems, and to provide easy disposal of them in SLV towns.

The first part of the campaign is a contest to design and construct a cigarette butt receptacle. Individuals and Teams can enter. Receptacles can be stand alone or wall mounted, must be functional and durable. Receptacles are due by June 1, and winners (1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each category) will be determined by popular vote online and at the Redwood Mountain Faire, where contest receptacles will be on display. Cash prizes will be awarded.

Merchants are being approached to provide places for the receptacles and sponsors are needed to fund contest prizes and to purchase additional receptacles.

Detailed information and entry forms are available at SLV recycling centers, and online (www.thebuttstopshere.org), or by calling Nancy at 345-1555.

White Oak Students Make an Impact

Combine remarkable high school students, an inspired teacher, and a creative graduate student, and you've got an excellent chance of improving the environment in the San Lorenzo Valley. White Oak High School teacher, Becca Bing, invited Erich Weiland to involve her students in his Master's Thesis project in Education. As a result, the class has, so far, pulled hundreds of invasive broom plants from Quail Hollow Park and dragged out over 1,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from along Carbonero Creek. They also worked at the Homeless Garden Project.

The emphasis on educating through experiential learning is what led Erich to this effort, and he found a willing partner in Becca Bing who is a strong advocate for involving students in community service projects. On March 10, assisted by Lee Summers, Quail Hollow Park Naturalist, students learned why invasive French broom is so devastating locally and then worked hard (and got poison oak) pulling it out by the roots before it sets new seeds.

On March 17, after a brief introduction to the impacts of trash in the Watershed by Fishery Biologist, Don Alley, students and adults attacked an enormous heap of detritus and filled up two trucks, reluctantly leaving more behind. Nancy Macy, Director of SLV Redemption/Recycling Centers explained the need to sort the recyclables from the trash as she passed out bags and gloves, provided by the VWC. Over 140 pounds of recyclables were brought out, but over 940 pounds of trash were hauled up and taken to the Ben Lomond Transfer Station, where the dumping fee was paid for by the VWC.

White Oak students have a lot to be proud of in their hard work cleaning up the watershed, thanks to their teachers with support from locals involved in environmental issues.

Yellow Pages A Waste In Many Ways: Progress Made But You Can Opt Out

By Nancy Macy

This is really amazing.... THREE separate yellow pages are coming here within a very few months of one another for no good reason, except to make those companies some money — with a terrible waste of trees and a huge burden on the recycling industry with the influx of very low-quality paper. AT&T delivered its 2011 telephone directory throughout Santa Cruz County at the beginning of May; one improvement was that it was mailed directly to residents here in the SLV. Yellowbook will deliver its book in July. And the Valley Yellow Pages distributes books in September. Each distribution of about 150,000 phone books throughout this county prompts the discard of some 300 tons of old or unwanted books. Most of these books end up in recycling bins, but it is still a big waste to pulp a book that was never even read.

Having more than one yellow pages is also a burden on local businesses who find themselves forced to buy ads in all three yellow pages because when one is received the other is thrown out. My personal opinion is to use and keep the AT&T book, if you keep any at all, and do everything you can to discourage the other two.

Here's how to get off the distribution lists and avoid waste before it is created. The national Yellow Pages Association has set up a customer preference website to help you opt-out. When you enter your Zip Code, all the telephone books distributed in your area are displayed. You can decide which ones you want and which ones you don't. If you need multiple copies of a book, you can also use this service to increase the number delivered.
http://www.yellowpagesoptout.com

Thanks to County Recycling Coordinator, Jeffrey Smedberg, for the information on how to opt out online.

The PHONE NUMBERS that Hilary Stanley sent out last year are still good: AT&T 866-329-7118. Santa Cruz Yellow Book 800-888-8448. Valley Yellow Pages 800-350-8887

Thanks to Hilary's personal campaign to first collect the wasted new yellow books that used to sit by mailboxes for months, and the support of our local political representatives, those companies that still drop off the books have promised to pick up the leftovers within a short period of time, and AT&T decided to mail them so fewer were sent out and wasted.

Earth Day in Santa Cruz
VWC's Environmental Committee Shines

Earth Day in Santa Cruz came early this year. Saturday, April 16th, hundreds of visitors came to the bench lands along the San Lorenzo River behind the Park and the County building to enjoy and learn from, and connect with, some remarkable organizations, dedicated to improving environmental conditions in all aspects of life. Dozens of people stopped to investigate the VWC's Watershed map, the Cigarette Butt Campaign information, and, especially, the Green Solutions' hands-on, make-it-yourself household products – environmentally sound, effective, and inexpensive solutions to everyday needs, from flea powder to shampoo. Stephanie Sakasai has a profound depth of knowledge of essential oils and the other ingredients needed for such products; she has formulated recipes that enable people to live cleaner, healthier lives. The workshop provided this for free to those who came by, with the able assistance of Sean Wharton and Michele Estrin-Gelblum. Also helping with the VWC booth were father and son team, Mark and Quinn Becker, Mary Jo Walker, Nancy Macy, Karen Burman and Stephanie's daughter, Annabelle Sakasai. Music was planned, but was overwhelmed by a nearby drumming group, but thanks are due to "Heathen Hill" (Stephanie, Mark, and Sam Sternlight, Ted Ackley and Elicia Burton) who had planned to play, and Cathleen O'Connell who brought her beautiful Irish harp and played for our enjoyment.

In the neighboring space, Emmanuelle Pancaldi-Flynn and Kevin Flynn staffed the Sempervirens Fund's booth (Kevin is on the Sempervirens' Board of Directors) and both are VWC Environmental Committee members. It was heartwarming to see the many families in attendance, bringing children of all ages to experience the event.

Environmental Tidbits

25th Annual Al Haynes Memorial River & Road Clean-up coming Saturday, September 17th. YOU will be needed to help staff sign-in tables and to help with the BBQ celebration at Highlands Park after the Clean-up.

Cool GREEN stamps at the post office. Plus, USPS has made a commitment to pursue Cradle-to-Cradle certified stamps and other products.

A heart-warming story, Seabird in the Forest – The Mystery of the Marbeled Murrelet, is awesomely fragile and bold. Told and painted by Arcata resident, Joan Dunning, Seabird in the Forest is a children's book with an unlimited appeal to everyone's mind and spirit. The story of a tiny mysterious sea bird that saved the great ancient redwood forests is lovingly, wondrously told in this beautiful new book. The bird's story will give you hope and fill you with wonder. See the book and order signed copies directly from Joan. Or order from Amazon: Click here.

You will certainly find this youtube video interesting. It's time to really rethink the way we centralize energy production and use extremely dangerous and destructive fuels, but energy can be produced more cheaply and with the tools at hand. This video originated in Germany where they are moving away from Nuclear Power in a big way and makes you stop and think. See it here.

Did you know that diverting recyclable and compostable materials from the waste stream can lead to significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions? In fact, within California, Oregon, and Washington, recycling or composting many of the commonly found items in the disposed waste stream could reduce GHG emissions by more than 32 MMTCO2e[i], the equivalent of taking 6.3 million cars off the road for a year. This finding is from a new report, "Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Recycling and Composting," produced by the West Coast Climate and Materials Management Forum, an EPA-led partnership of western city, county, state, and tribal governments. The full report is available online here.

Join our local, emerging Council of All Beings – and become a speaker for an animal or plant you want to study, or just learn and share. More at the vwc website.

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