QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

An open letter to stakeholders from Safe Healthy Playing Fields Inc.  

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

March 2, 2022 News Flash Fisher, Lex, and Blossom Hill community members, were you feeling comfortably in the clear?   Were you under the impression only Van Meter and Daves Avenue elementary school communities were at any real risk of an artificial turf field? Time to engage in the cause. Artificial turf fields are now being explored for ALL FIVE LGUSD schools: Fisher Middle School Blossom Hill Elementary Lexington Elementary Daves Avenue Elementary Louise Van Meter Elementary While there is not sufficient funding to install artificial turf fields at all 5 sites at the moment, it is unclear which of the 5 existing natural grass fields are at highest risk of being killed off in this first round of renovations. The district will use this present exploration process to inform its current and future priorities.  When will a decision be made and by whom? At the 4/21/2022 LGUSD board meeting, the trustees will be presented with some version of the collected input and asked to make a deci

LGUSD is in the process of designing elementary school outdoor classrooms outfitted with artificial turf. The imitation-grass blades they've chosen will be coated w/antimicrobials. Antimicrobials are associated w/human & environmental harm.   Kids need more daily exposure to nature, not more daily exposure to biocides. Outfitting #LGUSD elementary school outdoor classrooms w/antimicrobially-coated green plastic carpets made to imitate nature is not an "upgrade". View full antimicrobial video: https://t.co/93kQlVqYmd pic.twitter.com/JCZfv5u7hj — Question Fake Grass (@QuestnFakeGrass) February 17, 2022 Reduce unnecessary use of chemicals from the 6 classes of concern. Skip the artificial turf, especially for little kids. Image from SixClasses.org , The Six Classes Approach to Reducing Chemical Harm

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 sticking to field users), and  anti-mic

On the heels of Beckham’s debilitating knee injury in the recent Superbowl, there's  huge momentum among both athletes and fans, complaining about plastic turf and injuries. This one-minute video highlights injury stats and the heat of plastic turf as well as the plastic waste and the cost of injured players. Sign and share the petition to swap NFL stadium turf for real grass . View this post on Instagram A post shared by PFF (@profootballfocus) Sign and share Pennington's  petition to  Swap NFL Stadium Turf for Real Grass . #FlipTheTurf  

Image from  socialmediaweek.org For more info, join the " Los Gatos Community Discussion: Artificial Turf on LGUSD fields ” Facebook Group or email questionplasticgrass@gmail.com  

PFAS are used in artificial turf manufacturing. They have been found in the blades and backing of fields in use , most later landfilled. So from site of manufacture to site of use to site of disposal, artificial turf potentially contributes to PFAS in people, environments, animals and water. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency , PFAS have been linked to: developmental delays in children, accelerated puberty, hormone interference, decreased fertility, reduced immune systems, including reduced vaccine response, increased risk of prostate/testicular cancers, high cholesterol, etc. The conclusion of the “ PFAS Strategic Roadmap: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Commitments to Action 2021-2024 ” includes a directive to local governments to exercise increased and sustained leadership to prevent new PFAS contamination. Call upon your local governments to fulfill this EPA directive they’ve been tasked with. Call upon them to landscape schools and parks witho

1700+ Los Gatos children currently get to passively and actively recreate on nature for two recess periods per schoolday on LGUSD's elementary schools play fields.  More than half these children may be about to lose this privilege . San Jose Water's latest Water Shortage Contingency Plan (a document titled "Schedule No. 14.1 Water Shortage Contingency Plan with Staged Mandatory Reductions and Drought Surcharges") has 5 stages of water conservation that include mandatory restrictions regarding water use. Failure to comply with the restrictions of a given stage is deemed a wasteful and unreasonable use of water. The 5 stages are: Conservation and outreach Water reduction needed Severe water reduction (<--- This is where Los Gatos is as of 12/5/21.) Critical water reduction Emergency water reduction Even at the highest stage of water conservation, "Emergency water reduction" (stage 5), when San Jose Water prohibits water or irrigation of lawn, landscap

LGUSD management staff have concluded plastic grass fields will NOT save the district money over reconstructed, properly maintained natural grass fields. LGUSD management staff, by their own admission, have not chosen to prioritize adequate maintenance of fields for years. Current field conditions do not reflect limitations in the ability to properly maintain natural grass fields; They simply reflect neglect. If natural grass is chosen for fields, the district's proposal is for the fields to be completely renovated: leveled, properly drained, outfitted with with modern, efficient irrigation, re-sodded and staffed with adequate labor for maintenance. As shown in the slide below, LGUSD staff compared the 20-year cost of its proposal to reconstruct natural grass fields and begin adequately maintaining and watering them against the cost of plastic grass (a.k.a. artificial turf).  LGUSD staff concluded plastic grass does NOT save money. Over 20 years, the district expects it would cost

Image on left from  lgusd.org .  Image on right from Project Cornerstone ,  a YMCA program used in the district to develop students to be upstanders rather than bystanders. Hello friends, If you feel artificial turfing LGUSD's school grounds is not the best choice for our community to make, it's a good time to speak up.    Please come to Tuesday's LGUSD  regular session board meeting (1/11/2022 6:30pm IN PERSON in the Fisher Multi-Purpose Room ) and share a respectful up-to-3-minute public comment.  Need an idea of what to share?  There are many deficits to the proposal, so take your pick.  Find one that hits home with you by scanning our  blog  posts, our Twitter posts, or our Facebook discussion group . Your opportunity to comment is right near the start of the regular session meeting (open to the public), under agenda item C.4 .  (Follow meeting protocol by writing this item number on the provided index card when you sign-in.)  While board meetings can run long, you