QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

The Heat Island Effect. Source: Dustin Phillips on Flickr. Image featured in  "No More Pavement! The Problem of Impervious Surfaces" by Columbia Climate School Indeed one motive often cited for artificial turf usage is water conservation.  T he LGUSD slides from the 11/8/21 Town Hall meeting highlighted water conservation as a prime justification for covering school grounds with giant sheets of plastic. However, using water conservation to justify plastic grass is an argument sorely lacking in perspective. And it contributes to the false dichotomy that is this narrow set of district options being discussed. To conserve water, should we entirely sacrifice: two of the few remaining swaths of easily-accessible, publicly available living landscapes in our increasingly urbanized downtown?   the exposure to nature they provide 1000+ Los Gatos children twice every schoolday? the cooling they provide to counter the heat-island effect of our urban environment?  the biodiversity t

The downsides of using artificial turf outweigh the upsides. Image from aprilsmith.org . Go here to review the downsides to using artificial turf on campus areas OTHER than the play fields. Question whether motives for installing artificial turf outweigh these compelling reasons to dismiss artificial turf, especially given that alternatives are within reach... WATER USE UNDERESTIMATED - Uses water for cooling, cleaning, maintenance.  Required to maintain warranty. MAINTENANCE UNDERESTIMATED - Needs continual cleaning of dried-on sweat, spit, blood, vomit, dog poop/pee , bird poop, food, gum. Sweeping/leaf blowing. Brushing to keep pile up. Repairs. Requires regular testing of surface and infill hardness for SAFETY.  Warranties have restrictions inconducive to elementary school multi-use fields (no lawn chairs, no staking of bounce houses or tents, discourage food and beverage, etc.) HEAT ISLAND - Heats campuses, kids can’t play on it on hot days, endangers surrounding trees, affe

No. Cost-savings is NOT the motive to install artificial turf.  The district has acknowledged that artificial turf does not save the district money.  In fact, an "upgrade" from natural grass to artificial turf will cost an extra $1 million PER FIELD for initial construction with ongoing replacement costs of $600K PER FIELD every 8-10 years.  If and when funding allows, additional LGUSD campus fields might get the "upgrade".  Is fake grass really what we want to prioritize spending LGUSD's limited funds on?  Aren't there other construction projects that would better serve LGUSD's K-8 students? Wouldn't you prefer LGUSD spend $1 MILLION from its limited budget on something other than plastic grass??  Natural grass is safer, softer, cooler, beneficial in so many ways , AND a million dollars cheaper than artificial turf!

The downsides of using artificial turf outweigh the upsides. Image from aprilsmith.org . Below is a pared down list of downsides to using artificial turf, focused on concerns most relevant to areas of campus beyond the fields.  This includes spaces designed to be used as "outdoor classrooms" where it's envisioned the community's 5-11 year old students will gather, eat, and play during class time, recess, and lunch, such as outdoor corridors and courtyards, including a courtyard used daily by kindergarteners.   To review the downsides to using artificial turf on the play fields, see our original flyer . Question whether motives for installing artificial turf outweigh these compelling reasons to dismiss artificial turf, especially given that alternatives are within reach... HEAT - Artificial turf, even with plant-based infill, gets HOT.  For example, on a sunny, 80 degree day, it might be 110 degrees on artificial turf with cork infill.  Last schoolyear, we had 77 day

The above image is from  a non-local mom's Twitter post . However, a Los Gatos mom we spoke to  shared that her son experienced burns  on t he Los Gatos High School synthetic turf field  . A re you familiar with heat issues that come with artificial turf?  Artificial turf, even with plant-based infill, gets HOT.  In the 2020-2021 schoolyear, Los Gatos had 77 days above 80 degrees.   Based on data we collected from a local park, on a sunny, 80-degree Fahrenheit day, artificial turf with cork infill  was 110 degrees ! And it could actually get hotter than that. Check out these datapoints captured by others .   How would you like your 6-year-old playing soccer on a field that's 125 degrees  when the air temperature was only 84 degrees? That was the experience of the 6-year-olds in Rockwood School District. And how about when it's not such a mild day? On a 97-degree Fahrenheit day, an artificial turf field with plant-based infill could run 140 degrees! Need help understan

Image from the FAQ of turi.org In addition to providing the facts, with references, on chemicals of concern, heat stress, injuries, and environmental concerns, the 2020  Toxics Use Reduction Institute's Fact Sheet , designed specifically for municipalities and institutions, shares the following regarding children's environmental health: " Children are uniquely vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals because their organ systems are developing rapidly and their detoxification mechanisms are immature. Children also breathe more air per unit of body weight than adults, and are likely to have more hand-to-mouth exposure to environmental contaminants than adults.  For these reasons, it is particularly important to make careful choices about children’s exposures."  

Image from ptbe.org LGUSD district management staff hosted a community forum on 11-08-21 to share the landscape design plans they plan to present to the LGUSD Board of Trustees for approval at the upcoming 11-18-21 school board meeting.   Despite being in-person-only and held during hours when a number of parents who had expressed wanting to attend regretfully could not, the meeting was very well-attended by upwards of 70 community members.  Of the attendees who offered public comment, there was nearly-unanimous support for keeping artificial turf off LGUSD campuses.   Encouraging news was announced at this meeting:   District management staff now plan to propose to the Board of Trustees that natural grass be selected for the elementary school play fields!   HOWEVER , here's why it's not time to hang your hat:   District management staff are NOT the decision makers.  The decision will come from the school board. The district management staff recommendation to use natural gras

Image from Sierra Club's "Outdoors for All" Campaign The Sierra Club Loma Prieta's  first letter to the LGUSD school board  implores them to choose an alternative to plastic grass.  The letter: implores the district to leave fossil fuels in the ground,  draws attention to the 11 student athletes that have recently died from heat stroke, points to PFAS in the human body as sufficient reason alone to reject artificial turf entirely, deems artificial turf a poor investment for its short-lived purpose citing the extreme problem that is microplastic pollution, highlights social justice and equity impacts covering playgrounds with plastic. An excerpt from  Sierra Club Loma Prieta' s   second letter to the LGUSD school board :  "Artificial turf should never be used because it is toxic to watersheds. Microplastics bioaccumulate eventually into food and access the bloodstream through the respiratory system and/or the gastrointestinal tract. The precautionary principle

Image from report by EWG.org " PFAS Contamination of Drinking Water Far More Prevalent Than Previously Reported " Wind and rain blow or wash pollutants off hard surfaces like streets, parking lots, sidewalks, and artificial turf systems into storm drains that flow untreated directly into our creeks and waterways. In LGUSD's proposed artificial turf "fields", water will rinse the chemicals off the weathered and worn plastic blades of "grass" as well as off the perforated carpet backing and perforated shockpad beneath. The chemicals will be rinsed into drainage pipes that flow directly to storm drains . Why wouldn't PFAS forever chemicals, lead, infill, plastic grass blades, microplastics, cleaning chemicals, and weedkillers be carried by rainwater and sprinkler runoff from local artificial turf systems into the surrounding storm drains that flow into Los Gatos Creek? Even David Teter acknowledged at our Town Hall meeting the greater volume