QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

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  

Image from   universityhealthnews.com Do we need to be worried our kids might come down with a staph infection after scraping an elbow or knee playing tag or a game of soccer on LGUSD's proposed artificial turf play fields?   LGUSD's landscape designer lists among the drawbacks of artificial turf that " turf burns can increase the risk of MRSA ". What do turf burns look like? For those unfamiliar, "turf burn" is a skin abrasion resulting from the friction and heat experienced sliding or skidding across artificial turf.   Healthline explains  it may feel as if your skin has been scraped against sandpaper.  While scrapes and scratches from sliding or skidding across natural grass may also cause pain, that pain "may be moderate and subside within hours or days" while in sharp contrast "pain from turf burn can be intense and last for one or two weeks until the abrasion heals." "Turf burn can lead to a staph infection. These infections ar

Image of Samuel Liu from his  school newspaper where he wrote an in-depth piece about concerns over the district's artificial turf installations Our elementary school kids are trusting grownups to be educated on the issues and advocate for them.  These kids are trusting LGUSD to make a safe decision here.  However, older students in the community have spoken out themselves in the past against artificial turf. In April 2015, Los Gatos High School student, Zoe Lam, penned this piece: " LGHS needs to listen to its constituents' opinions and concerns.   Plan resulting from Measure E is replacing ALL five athletic fields with artificial turf at LGHS. This is NOT the right choice." A petition started by Lam garnered over 300 signatures.  " Keep Natural Grass on Helm Field...  Grass on LGHS’s football field, Helm Field, should be reinstalled after renovations ."  View the petition to read the numerous and insightful comments from Los Gatos community members oppos

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

"Turn off the tap by shutting down the plastic machine", advises The Story of Stuff . Plastic comes from fossil fuels.   For sustainability and climate resilience purposes, we've been teaching our kids that we've got to reduce our use of fossil fuels. We've been teaching our kids we've got to stop using plastic in situations where we have reasonable alternatives. And our kids care... Daves and Lexington Elementary kids campaigned to get rid of plastic packaging and straws both in the district and with local officials . The Fisher kids were grand prize winners of an Eco Grant from Grades of Green in part for persuading the school to stop selling single-use water bottles . Van Meter kids attended an assembly with a representative of West Valley Collection & Recycling to learn more about how our waste stream is handled.  And for Earth Day, the Van Meter Green Team reviewed with the students that  "5 R's is the new 3 R's" :  Refuse, Reduce,

LGUSD boasts about its environmental stewardship successes. The incongruence of using plastic grass after all the other progress being made in the district is glaring, embarrassing, and baffling. Daves Avenue Green Team kids , what do you think about (or do you even know about) the plans to cover portions of your campus with surfacing that is "green" only in color? Now's your chance to learn about eco issues in your immediate world and get active.