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 Winter 2009–2010 Watershed Nature Walk Series Last Spring, Carol Carson wrote a grant request for the San Lorenzo Water District to fund a series of background articles and nature walks, led by local experts, into the San Lorenzo Valley watershed. Over the summer and into the Fall, Carol’s articles in the Press/Banner sparked intense interest, and assured that each walk would be well-attended. The walks included:
Carol’s informative articles were an effective means of reaching a large audience in the SLV and Scotts Valley. Carol reports that the river geology walk was the most popular with 40 participants while most of the other walks averaged more than 30 people. Carson passed out evaluation forms at the end of each walk and here’s a sampling of what people had to say about the walks: “We have lived in the Valley for over 35 years and thought that we knew a lot about our environment... the Redwoods, the Sand Hills, Fall Creek and the Birds of SLV. Boy, were we surprised that there was so much more to learn and appreciate about our unique environment.” “Todd is a masterful and very thoughtful educator; his unique perspective helped me learn how to observe nature and made the topic of birding much more accessible to a neophyte like me. I’m not able to identify a lot of birds by sight, but I have learned how to tune into their sounds and listen to what their messages might be telling me.” “The Fall Creek Walk was definitely more than I was hoping for in a hike. Judy’s knowledge of the plants was very impressive and I love knowing how to identify plants that I commonly see in my neighborhood. What a beautiful area and I hope to go back soon to see the Tiger Lilies and orchids that should be coming out soon? Thank you again and I look forward to more hikes.” “Thanks for organizing the geology walk, we enjoyed every minute. It was very informative. We’ve lived in Valley for nearly 40 yrs. and still learned so much new info. The walk was just right for length and difficulty, for us seniors!” “My husband and I were fortunate to attend the large group that enjoyed the Rincon Nature Walk. Don Alley, a Principal Aquatic Biologist, explained many details about the fishing habits of the steelhead that inhabit the waterways in our San Lorenzo Valley. He gave us detailed handouts that described the studies that have been performed over the years to track what is happening to the fish.” “Because I live just at the base of the hill that Dr. Jodi referred to as the ‘Crown Jewel’ of the Sand Hills, and I am in the midst of converting my yard over to mostly California native plants, it was especially helpful to know that I’m living in such a unique ecological area. Now I have even more considerations to make as I am choose from the endemic plant life and try to help that along as well. My original motivation was just to “lose the lawn” and save on the water bill by planting native plants. Now the emphasis is so much more important.” Puma Project Update As restless as humans, Bay Area mountain lions have commute patterns just like ours. A new research project is identifying where humans and pumas cross paths, in hopes of preventing deadly consequences. Seven of these powerful, elusive and elegant animals — separated by Highway 17 — wear satellite-connected radio collars, allowing UC Santa Cruz scientists to reliably plot their numerous routes and spy on the cats on web cameras. Preliminary data shows the cats prefer remote territories, but routinely skirt the edges of active neighborhoods to get from one piece of wilderness to another. One of the cats often crosses Bonny Doon Road; another prowls near east Los Gatos. A third was documented traveling within one-third of a mile from San Jose’s Almaden Golf Course and the Graystone and Orchard Creek subdivisions. On each collar is a GPS device that records the cat’s location, and an accelerometer to measure every activity — running, standing, even drinking water. They’ve learned that deer are their favorite prey; occasionally, they’ll eat pigs and raccoons and skunks. The beavers that live in Los Gatos Creek, where it drains into Lexington Reservoir, provided one hearty meal. In addition, researchers’ cameras have captured glimpses of social behaviors between these creatures. They found one special site, where the region’s three females come to breed. The site lies right between the ranges of two males. About 25 cats live in this region of the Santa Cruz Mountains. About 5,000 are thought to live in California, increasingly hemmed in by subdivisions. Assemblymember Bill Monning Hosts Environmental Breakfast Meetings Three Gatherings Demonstrates Environmental Priorities Bill Monning, following the tradition started by Fred Keeley and then John Laird, held breakfast meetings for members of the environmental community in his District. There were three meetings; in Monterey, Santa Cruz and Morgan Hill. There was time for informal visiting, as well as group discussions. People broke into smaller groups based on their issue area (water, forestry, oceans, etc.) and listed their top concerns. These environmental priorities were then reported back to the larger group. The VWC received an email from Rachel Anne Goodman, District Director for Monning, attaching a list which includes the responses from all three meetings, offering a kind of regional overview of what matters most to people across the district when it comes to environmental issues and what they’d like to see done about them. Rachel said, “All told, nearly 200 people participated this year. We hope it will be just the beginning of an ongoing conversation. If you have ideas about how communication within this group might continue between yearly gatherings, or feedback on this year’s meeting format, please feel free to get in touch with me. ((831) 425-1503 fax (831) 425-2570, e-mail: rachel.goodman@asm.ca.gov.) As the new legislative year comes around, this input is incredibly useful for Bill and his staff.” It’s an exciting and diverse compendium of concerns, with surprising overlaps in the three areas of the 27th Assembly District that Monning serves. Read the report.
Surfrider Santa Cruz was a leader in the coalition supporting the recent ban on Styrofoam take-out containers. They are again leading the effort to reduce plastic’s toll on the ocean’s animals, but supporting a ban on single-use bags at markets and convenience stores. The VWC’s Environmental Committee is joining whole-heartedly in the effort. 5th District Supervisor Mark Stone brought the issue to the November 3rd Board of Supervisors’ meeting in a letter clearly delineating the need to reduce the impact that the single use plastic and paper bags have, from the natural resources they deplete to the waste they create and the destructive litter they result in. View .pdf letter. EC Committee Chair, Nancy Macy, praised Supervisor Stone for his initiative, “This is extraordinarily important for any area, but for a coastal community it is even more imperative to reduce the amount of plastic making its way into the ocean. Join us in supporting Mark’s effort to create an ordinance banning single-use bags!”
I’m sure no one needs an reason so spend more time in front of the computer, but these websites and videos are unusual and valuable sources of information and worth the time to ponder. Global Warming: An Overview A remarkable, concise explanation in a short video, of why we need to take strong action, whether you “believe” in human caused Global Warming or not: Click here. 3000 Year-Old Redwood If you missed the composite photo of the 3000 year-old redwood photographed by Mike Nichols published in the National Geographic, check it out here - breathtaking. Click here. u@50 “Lost Generation” The following is a video that was submitted in a contest by a 20 year old. The contest was titled “u @ 50.” Apparently this video won second place. I can’t imagine what 1st place must have been like. Apparently, when they showed this, everyone in the room was awe-struck and broke into spontaneous applause. Click here. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch Midway: Message from the Gyre “These photographs of albatross chicks were made just a few weeks ago on Midway Atoll, a tiny stretch of sand and coral near the middle of the North Pacific. The nesting babies are fed bellies-full of plastic by their parents, who soar out over the vast polluted ocean collecting what looks to them like food to bring back to their young. On this diet of human trash, every year tens of thousands of albatross chicks die on Midway from starvation, toxicity, and choking. “To document this phenomenon as faithfully as possible, not a single piece of plastic in any of these photographs was moved, placed, manipulated, arranged, or altered in any way. These images depict the actual stomach contents of baby birds in one of the world’s most remote marine sanctuaries, more than 2000 miles from the nearest continent.” Click here. The President signed a new Executive Order on Sustainability “As the largest consumer of energy in the U.S. economy, the Federal government can and should lead by example when it comes to creating innovative ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase energy efficiency, conserve water, reduce waste, and use environmentally-responsible products and technologies,” said President Obama. The official press release can be found here. Home | Back To Top |
|||||||
|
