QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

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Embracing its commitment to environmental stewardship, LGUSD has chosen not to install plastic fields at any of its elementary schools! 🎉 Playing field improvement and renovation plans for the schools of Los Gatos Union School District (LGUSD, a TK-8 district in Los Gatos, CA with four elementary schools and one middle school) were approved by the LGUSD Board 4/21/2022.  During the proposal development phase, the district staff had explored artificial turf as an option for renovations of the playing fields at each of LGUSD's five campuses.  Ultimately the district brought a hybrid proposal to the board for approval 4/21/2022.  However, the final result of the board deliberations was the board's unanimous approval of a revised plan, one that keeps all elementary school playing fields as natural grass and keeps two of the three fields at the middle school also as natural grass! Fields getting fully-renovated will receive a drought-tolerant species.  While the board approved

Plastic fields do not belong in LGUSD. No need to take our word for it. Go HERE to see what experts, government agencies, & organizations have to say. Many have communicated directly with LGUSD.

Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D., ( check out these credentials ) submitted this letter to the LGUSD board on behalf of the National Center for Health Research advising LGUSD that children deserve better than to be subjected to the risks of harm from artificial turf.

Do not assume our government would prohibit schools from installing artificial turf if it weren't safe. Do not assume the existence of a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) ensures  consumer products are safe. Below, read the CPSC Commissioner's statement  that compliance with standard "most definitely does not mean" artificial turf is safe.   He clarifies the artificial turf standard does not include requirements for any artificial turf system components beyond crumb rubber infill.  This is a critical point for ALL artificial turf systems, regardless of the infill product it utilizes, given, as just one example, what researchers are uncovering about the chemicals in artificial turf carpets.  He emphasizes  that artificial turf safety efforts are urgently needed, reminding us "that  our youngest – and thus most vulnerable – children are the ones using playgrounds on a daily basis." (By the way, for districts unlike LGUSD, that are considering usin

The County of Santa Clara discourages artificial turf , even in drought, explaining:     " While artificial turf can save water and fertilizer,  it is generally not a good sustainable alternative because  it does not support the ecosystem.  It does not work in harmony with nature.  It is a dead material.  It does not support soil health,  it is not recyclable,  it does not breakdown,  it does not provide habitat and  it can even get hot enough to cause burns." 

LGUSD has a "Green School Operations" Policy ...   "The Governing Board believes that all citizens have a responsibility to be stewards of the environment and desires to integrate environmental accountability into all district operations. The Superintendent or designee shall promote green school practices that  conserve natural resources, reduce the impact of district operations on the environment, and protect the health of students, staff, and community." The policy explicitly calls out that it applies to decisions about "landscaping and grounds". The district has cited as justification for the proposal to install plastic fields that the act, technically, would not be illegal.  Likewise installing plastic fields would, technically, not be a formal violation of LGUSD's loosely-worded Green School Operations policy.   However, installing plastic fields would certainly constitute failing to uphold the spirit of this policy. Let's aim higher than sat

The National Park Service explored and rejected artificial turf for the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 

"Keep artificial turf out of Los Gatos schools", a letter to the editor that was published online in The Mercury News April 15, 2022 and in their print edition Sunday, April 17, 2022. Links in the article: the “heat island” effect microplastics and “forever chemicals” into the environment found in human blood and lungs

Ph.D. Sarah-Jeanne Royer of  University of California, San Diego's Scripps Institution of Oceanography  urges prohibiting the use of synthetic turf in playgrounds and athletic field surfaces. Because synthetic turfs are made out of polyethylene, they are responsible for emitting methane, CO2, and other  greenhouse gases.  They are therefore potentially contributing to climate change. "Synthetic turf has a huge surface area --much larger than the size of the field-- because of all the small plastic “blades” in this large carpet of fake grass."  This huge surface area emits much higher amounts of greenhouse gases than a flat sheet of polyethylene. As the surface area of plastic continues to increase due to weathering and break-down, there is a tremendous increase in off-gassing of methane.  "For example, [polyethylene] powders off-gas methane 488 times more than when the same weight of [polyethylene] is in pellet form."  "While the negative effects of plastic

Below is a March 2022 letter to LGUSD from  Mt. Sinai's Children's Environmental Health Center . Because there are significant gaps in the evidence supporting the safety of artificial turf products and because children are uniquely vulnerable to harmful exposures from artificial turf surfaces, a moratorium is recommended on the use of artificial turf where children play. "Few studies have assessed potential chemical exposures from the artificial grass blades and backing  materials used on synthetic playing fields. A recent study identified perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS), a  class of chemicals linked to numerous health problems including cancer, nervous system toxicity,  immune dysfunction, thyroid, and cardiovascular disease in the plastic grass blades and backing used  on artificial turf fields." "While it is important to maximize safe play time, we caution against the use of materials which carry the risks of chemical and heat exposure outlined above or have n

Adequate risk assessment studies of the safety of artificial turf have NOT been conducted. D ig deeper than the marketing claims provided by the artificial turf industry to learn what chemicals artificial turf products contain and what the potential long-term health risks may be.  (If you're in LGUSD, while you may disregard the cautions about recycled tires since LGUSD is proposing an alternative infill material, plenty of chemical concerns remain for the products LGUSD is proposing.) Who do you trust?  Mt. Sinai's Children's Environmental Health Center or misguided (albeit well-meaning) influencers parroting the marketing tactics used by the synthetic turf industry?

This page may not render properly on a small-screen device.   What is motivating LGUSD staff to promote synthetic turf?  Where might the synthetic turf go?  What will it cost?  What is the decision timeline?   Hear it straight from the horse's mouth... Below,  in reverse chronological order, find the content LGUSD staff have shared in public meetings regarding  "Outdoor Classrooms & Campus Landscaping". Decide for yourself: Have LGUSD staff fallen under the spell of synthetic turf industry marketing?   Have natural alternatives to synthetic groundcover been properly explored and fairly presented? March 2022 LGUSD Community Meetings Content shared  in  advance  of  the meetings held in March/April for each of the 5 school communities: 2/15/22 LGUSD Board Meeting Content shared  in  advance  of  the meeting: 12/14/21 LGUSD Board Meeting Content shared  in  advance  of  the meeting: 11/18/21 LGUSD Board Meeting Content shared in advance of the mee