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 Roadside Cleanup, Highways 9 and 236: Quarterly ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS Spring 2008 GREEN SOLUTIONS WORKSHOP FILM SEGMENTS ON COMMUNITY TV OR ONLINE The April 12 workshop, “Green Solutions For Everyday Living,” presented by the VWC’s Environmental Committee for the SLV, was filmed by Felton filmmaker, Tamara Lynn Scott. The Workshop featured the problems of non-point source pollution from vehicles, animals and households, with experts providing the ways and means for preventing toxins from endangering our homes and our watershed, and excellent Q&A sessions. Volunteers Needed for Circle Saturday, October 11th on your calendar for the 22nd Annual San Lorenzo Valley RIVER & ROAD CLEAN UP. Volunteers are needed to help pull trash from the River, its tributaries, and their roadsides from 9 am to 3 pm. Families and clubs and groups are encouraged to plan several hours to help in this important effort to protect the River and its wildlife from the long summer’s accumulation of debris, and to prevent it from being carried out into the Bay when the rains come. Click here to read how you can help!
SLV WATER DISTRICT UPDATING WATERSHED MANAGEMENT PLAN It is so exciting to see the work of many months coming to fruition in the draft of Part 1 of the Watershed Management Plan. The SLV Water District can be very proud of the commitment they have made to improving conditions in and of the Watershed in all its complexities, thereby helping to insure the quality of future water supplies for their customers – and the viability of the watershed. The draft of the new Watershed Management Plan is on the SLV Water District website (www.slvwd.com) I was only able to review Chapters 3 and 4, but was glad to see the information on “legacy” conditions which still impact the Watershed, on the importance of Coastal fog, and the material on diversions in Streamflows. Will this information be tied into Global Warming and its potential impacts elsewhere? The District has actively been trying to make plans for the problems Warming will magnify and these issues should be in the Management Plan. The overview of Sudden Oak Death in the Plan is deeply sobering; there is no mention of efforts to curtail its spread and hopefully this will be addressed. The more information we know, the better chance we have as residents to prevent further spread of this disease. The Large Instream Wood discussion is excellent and should be a reference for every Water District on the Coast! I am hoping the Water District will make it available to the County Board of Supervisors and Environmental Health, as they are working on changing their response to Instream Wood and this information will help them in their public education efforts. In Chapter 4, the discussion of Biotic Resources is fascinating. I am surprised, however, that the current impact of human actions is not included. Accelerated erosion, contamination from dysfunctional septic systems, current logging, other tree and shrub removal, herbicides and pesticides used by both private and public entities (impacting riparian areas not just the sandhills), and nonpoint source pollution, are all issues of concern which you have discussed or referred to in Chapter 3, or in an historical reference, but are missing here. The same is true of the diversions made by SLVWD and SCWD. Shouldn’t these factors be itemized and discussed in this section where their impacts are so crucial, and where they can be used to justify continued education and future efforts for watershed restoration? The Water District is urging the community to comment on further drafts and is committing the resources needed to see this plan updated and improved, and then implemented. Kudos to the SLVWD!!
Planning Department Proposes Changes The Valley Women’s Clubis very concerned about the proposed amendments to the County Code Chapters 13.10, 13.20 and 16.50 to simplify zoning regulations for small-scale residential structures. We concur that there is a need to streamline procedures but feel that the changes being planned have significant environmental impacts and fall well within the criteria for a CEQA review. The Sierra Club, with extensive, cogent documentation, expressed their opposition to the changes as well. We are especially concerned with the potential for significant expansion of the numbers and size of inhabited structures with insufficient environmental oversight and protection, both within and outside of riparian corridors. Their increased impact on water usage and waste, adding roadways and impermeable surfaces, polluted runoff, traffic, seasonal and year-round waterways, and erosion should be defined, evaluated and disallowed or mitigated, depending upon the results of a CEQA report. Several water districts, including SLV, Central and Soquel, requested CEQA review as well. The Board of Supervisors, on a 3-2 split vote, returned the proposals to Planning for revision. Supervisor Mark Stone supported our position. Green Solutions Workshop Moved to The second Green Solutions Workshop has been moved closer to Earth Day. It will take place on Saturday, April 12, from 1 to 4 pm, at Felton’s Community Hall (in the smaller meeting room). Nonpoint Source Pollution is the focus with answers to the questions of how can we avoid toxic materials in our lives, what alternatives are there, and what does green soup taste like?!! For information, or to help with the workshop, please call Nancy Macy at 338-1728 (also the Recycling Centers information number). For more information, please view the flyer. Enviro Adventures Field Trips Youngsters and their parents are invited to attend a series of field trips led by VWC Environmental Committee member, Dusty Gipson. The first field trip was to Pacific Biofuel in Santa Cruz, where they learned how grease from French fries, and other sources, can be made into an excellent diesel gasoline. Upcoming trips include the SLV Water District, Camp Joy Organic Teaching Farm (in Boulder Creek), a hike in Henry Cowell Park, the Felton Farmers Market, and Natural Bridges – and more in the planning, including a possible boat trip into Monterey Bay! 1993 Newsletter Featured Oak Woodlands “As threatened as the Redwoods” was the header to the lead article in the 1993 Summer/Fall VWC Newsletter on Oak Woodlands. Since then Sudden Oak Death has further damaged this resource, along with ever-expanding vineyards and housing developments. Protect YOUR oak woodlands; they protect our watershed (and therefore our source of water) and provide habitat for hundreds of species of animals and plants – as well as beauty. “No Smoking” in Parks or on the Beach? There is a strong movement to bring a no-smoking policy to public areas in the City of Santa Cruz. The ballot measure would be as follows: “Shall smoking be prohibited in the City of Santa Cruz at all parks, beaches, recreational trails, river areas, outdoor active and passive recreational areas and greenbelt properties which are managed and operated by the City of Santa Cruz and in all public and private outdoor areas in the Downtown Parking District (i.e. Parking District Number 1)?” Why would people want to ban smoking in outdoor areas? Doesn’t the outside air dissipate the smoke? Well, that’s NOT the issue here! It’s the very essence of the Nonpoint Source Pollution problem we’ve been discussing! Cigarettes, especially cigarette butts are filled with toxins. You’ve seen this in the Newsletter before in relation to the watershed – and it’s in the new brochure. The toxins are extremely dangerous to amphibians and insects and small animals. The filters NEVER biodegrade. And there are thousands and thousands and thousands of them everywhere. Hundreds and hundreds were picked up at the annual Beach Clean-up. And Santa Cruz City is tired of trying to clean up after people. It’s time for people to take responsibility for their actions and to stop sharing their personal pollution with others. It’s a big issue in a small package – and will be vigorously debated for sure. And I’ll be supporting it 100%. Energy Efficiency Tip Have you considered turning OFF your water heater when you go out of town for more than three days? Heating water is the third largest energy expense in the average American home. Check the thermostat on your water heater: sometimes water heaters are installed with higher than necessary temperature settings. A temperature of 120°F assures comfortably hot water for almost all uses. If you’ll be away from home for three days or longer, lower the thermostat or turn off the water heater entirely. This will provide a net savings of energy (and money!). County of Santa Cruz Bans Polystyrene Foam The recent backlash against foam packaging has landed another ban on the books, this time in the unincorporated areas of the county. The ordinance, which was unanimously approved by the county's Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, prohibits the use of polystyrene and other environmentally questionable materials at some 500 food-serving establishments, nearly half of the county's total food-related businesses. The city of Capitola instituted a similar ban last year and the city of Santa Cruz passed one just last week. The cities of Scotts Valley and Watsonville are expected to enact similar measures later this year.
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