QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

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...

What is artificial turf? a.k.a. synthetic turf? Imitation grass. It's literally a carpet woven from strips of green-tinted plastic. A LOT of plastic. Plastic Field = Plastic Pollution Urge your electeds to choose natural grass athletic fields.  Zero waste. Video from The Field Fund

Want to conserve water?  Don't send rain down the storm drain and away from Los Gatos.  Keep it here.  Use it!  Recharge Los Gatos groundwater and raise the water table to help maintain reserves that can help us manage drought. ONE of the many ecological issues with artificial turf is how it impacts our local stormwater runoff.   If instead of nurturing healthy soils to absorb rain like a sponge, LGUSD installs p lastic grass, stormwater runoff will increase from LGUSD campuses into Los Gatos Creek and the San Francisco Bay. Not only does plastic grass send away precious rainwater, that water drags pollutants into the watershed with it.  These pollutants include: chemicals in the artificial turf system ( PFAS possibly being one of them) as the plastic breaks down under heat and UV exposure.   chemicals applied to plastic grass such as:  solvents and cleaners (to remove baked on spills and animal droppings),  anti-statics (to minimize infill...

Share your input with the decision-makers, the LGUSD Board of Trustees. Images from lgusd.org LGUSD is developing plans to build "Outdoor Classrooms" in elementary school courtyards using artificial turf as one of the primary surfaces.   By installing artificial turf, LGUSD risks adding more  heavy metals and  chemicals , particularly PFAS which is found to be  contaminating drinking water ,  to the environment.   PFAS can  poison humans  over time, even in very low doses, because it bioaccumulates.   LGUSD, let's follow the precautionary principle and landscape without artificial turf.  The precautionary principle is a cost-effective way to minimize pollution and environmental damage.   Taking artificial turf off the menu of landscaping materials would demonstrate value for public health.  It would also demonstrate environmental stewardship, which LGUSD calls out as one of the guiding principles for this project. FAQ: What c...

Image from businessinsider.com Think installing plastic grass constitutes doing your part to respond to climate change?  Think again.   Trace that messaging back to its source.  The source is NOT  Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD).  The source is most likely an entity that profits  when you buy an artificial turf system... probably someone in the petroleum industry, plastics  industry , chemical  industry  or artificial turf industry.   The companies polluting the planet have spent millions to make you think carpooling and recycling will save us . These companies have also spent millions to make you think installing plastic grass will save us. If you have fallen under the spell of those that make money when you buy plastic grass, it's time to wake up.  Plastic grass is NOT an environmentally-responsible way to deal with drought . Our water district, SCVWD, like other districts throughout the state: promotes water conservati...

Students at LGUSD's Lexington Elementary  practice, as explained at ibo.org , being knowledgeable,  open-minded, reflective, critical thinkers. As educators and parents, we know that "everybody else is doing it" is not a valid justification for anything. And, just like we all tell our kids:   In actuality , it is NOT true that "everybody else is doing it"... How does that lesson apply here? Schools and municipalities are NOT all following the masses, succumbing to sales pitches, and proceeding with artificial turf installations. Some are pausing to ask themselves if this is really a wise choice?  Especially in light of expert insights that were not yet available back when  other schools and municipalities chose to install them ?   For example, in 2005 when the Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District (LGSUHSD) installed one of its first artificial turf fields, it was not widely known how much lead was in some of the fields.  As another example, in...

Image of plastic turf dumped near a wetland from a coalition in a town that now has a moratorium on artificial turf installations . Yes, this is the same Dr. Debbie Tatro that has  taken issue with the artificial turf safety assertions provided by LGUSD's consultant , David Teter. Here is Dr. Tatro's letter to the LGUSD school board:

Image from nasa.gov . With climate change, heat waves are becoming more frequent, more intense, and longer lasting. As humans replace natural ground cover and vegetation with artificial materials (like roofs, pavements, and synthetic turf), these surfaces significantly change how the land absorbs and releases energy. These surfaces contribute to the "urban heat island effect", the phenomenon where developed areas get hotter than nearby rural areas. Additional air conditioning is required to counter-balance the increased temperatures, thereby increasing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. This is a vicious cycle. As climate change pushes many cities towards dangerous temperatures, it's important we retain living landscapes to mitigate excessive heat. Even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency confirms that "elevated temperatures from heat islands can affect a community’s environment and quality of life in multiple ways: Compromise...