QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

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 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

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  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

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 ehhi.org's  synthetic turf report . Looking for information on artificial turf from a source outside the industry?    SynTurf.org is a resource you don't want to miss.  As explained on its homepage, "This site is a US-based worldwide forum dedicated to information regarding the environmental and health risks associated with artificial/synthetic turf fields.   By providing a reliable body of information about environmental and health impact of artificial turf fields, this site seeks to level the playing field of information about synthetic turf in favor of public interest.   This site grew out of the need for a clearinghouse of information about the environmental and health aspects of artificial turf, particularly about information not readily disclosed by promoters and sellers of artificial turf systems and their purchasers.   This site is not affiliated with any manufacturer, seller or promoter of artificial turf fields, nor with any grower, seller or promoter

Image from  https://www.safehealthyplayingfields.org's  Health Benefits of Natural Turf Safe Healthy Playing Fields, Inc.   is a gold mine, in terms of both human resources and data. This organization works to raise awareness -  with facts - about why grass and natural surfaces are the best choice - for financial, environmental and public health reasons. Their explanations address five major areas: cost, injury, heat, toxicity to environment, and toxicity to athletes, especially kids. Follow them on social media for the latest... Tweets by SHPFC

Image from ehhi.org's synthetic turf report . There are a host of concerns with artificial turf systems that are filled with (those annoying black) crumbs from recycled rubber tires .  Early in the planning stages of landscape design, LGUSD wisely ruled out crumb rubber as a possible infill choice.  Perhaps we have LGUSD's landscape architect, Verde Design, to thank for this.  Verde Design's architect referred to the crumb rubber infill as carcinogenic at the 11/18/21 LGUSD board meeting.  (Curiously though, crumb rubber appears to be what is in installed at Los Gatos High School fields, projects Verde Design had a hand in.) 👏 👏 👏 While LGUSD appears to have dodged this bullet, issues with crumb rubber infill should be considered when the fields at Creekside and LGHS come due for renovation.   And if your child currently uses fields at  Creekside or LGHS   regularly, proceed with caution.  Watch this and then read on... In February 2016, the Federal Research Action Pla

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  forceofnatureclean.com In this educational seminar "Testing for Chemicals of Concern in Synthetic Turf" , David Teter ( the consultant LGUSD's landscape designer brought to the 11/8/21 LGUSD-hosted Town Hall to  assert the safety  of artificial turf ) concludes: "Organic infill products made from coconut fiber/peat and rice husks are inconsistent with regards to the leaching of heavy metals and SVOCs. Some of these organic infills leached more heavy metals (arsenic, cobalt, hexavalent chromium, lead, and nickel) and SVOCs than crumb rubber." LGUSD has eschewed crumb rubber in its proposed artificial turf system because of the widely-recognized concerns with it.  So how can LGUSD conclude plant-based infills are safe?

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

Image from  The Mercury News https://www.mercurynews.com/2021/11/14/sierra-club-opposes-artificial-turf-at-los-gatos-schools/ Highlights of the article: There is acknowledgment that environmental concerns of artificial turf may OUTWEIGH the drought mitigation it provides . The local Sierra Club opposes LGUSD's proposed installations of artificial turf.  It's concerned about: kids overheating kids getting burned PFAS "forever" chemicals toxicity pollution of Los Gatos Creek and other bodies of water use of fossil fuels to create plastic grass potential micro-plastic pollution potential gas pollution