QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

What started out like this in September 2018... was transformed by March 2020 into this... THIS. IS. An outdoor classroom. There is no mention in the presentation materials about Van Meter's Full STEAM Ahead Project. What's the plan for this courtyard space outside of Van Meter's STEAM lab?? Hopefully, what was there pre-Covid is being preserved or at the very least its spirit and benefits are preserved by intentionally reproducing them elsewhere on campus. While a Life Lab space is in the Van Meter design plans, I'm not sure it fully accomplishes the same thing all on its own. Background: Mrs. Hill was awarded a grant by CTA's Institute for Teaching and invested massive amounts of her personal time building out that courtyard into a beautiful and lively space for our kids featuring a garden, a nasturtium tipi, blueberry bushes, a cozy seating area with a whiteboard, wildflowers, a root viewing box, and more. And she had exciting plans to incoporate a mural

This image from spectrumlife.org reminds us " It takes a village " to raise a community of healthy children.  Speak up for the children in your "village". If artificial turf is installed on some subset of LGUSD campuses as part of the current landscaping project, this will be setting  a precedent of artificial turf usage that may extend across all 5 campuses in time. Actions taken by a community's public schools reflect the values, beliefs, and priorities of the community in which these schools reside.   If you live within LGUSD boundaries , you are represented by the LGUSD school board which was elected to make decisions, including how to spend the school district's budget, on the community's behalf.   The LGUSD school board is meant to be responsive to the values, beliefs, and priorities of its community.    Does use of artificial turf align with your values, beliefs, and priorities?   Part of the mission statement of LGUSD is to develop, through role

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

Image from  scvas.org Highlights from Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society's 11/4/21 letter to the LGUSD school board include the following quotes: We see sterile environments, such as expanses of hardscape and plastic, as hostile to human development and well being.  Schools should surround children with life - native plant gardens, trees, even lawns - not plastic. Access to vegetation and nature, at all scales, is important to the development of children's physical and mental health, senses, curiosity, academics and cognitive ability. Natural play areas improve children’s health, mood, and creativity. Grass and artificial turf both require water; the difference being when you water grass, you water entire ecosystems, including surrounding redwoods and oaks. Louise Van Meter, Daves Avenue, and Blossom Hill are all elementary schools and should foster healthy learning environments, creative spaces, and a connection to nature for our children. There is a global movement to reduce

Image from  safehealthyplayingfields.org Note that this post focuses on crumb rubber infill, one of the most commonly used infills in artificial turf systems.  Fortunately, crumb rubber is NOT being considered a candidate for the infill of artificial turf used in LGUSD .  However, crumb rubber IS used at LGHS and likely in our town's Creekside Park where many of our Los Gatos kids play sports. Safe Healthy Playing Fields, Inc. questions whether letting kids play on artificial turf constitutes a human health experiment on kids. David R Brown Sc.D.  makes the case in this article that there is " A basis for concern and an urgent need for closer scrutiny". David is: a public health toxicologist Director of Public Health Toxicology for Environment and Human Health, Inc.  past Chief of Environmental Epidemiology and Occupational Health at Connecticut's Department of Health  past Deputy Director of The Public Health Practice Group of ATSDR at the National Centers for Disea

Images from  Safe Healthy Playing Field 's flyer. Safe Healthy Playing Fields, Inc. compares natural grass and artificial turf in this flyer .  

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