Earth Share of Washington

Victory for Children's Health!

Seattle School Board Adopts Strong Pesticide Reduction Policy

- By Angela Storey of Earth Share organization Washington Toxics Coalition

Last month, the Seattle School Board unanimously adopted a policy to protect students from exposure to hazardous pesticides at school. This is an important step for Seattle and a great model for other districts to follow in creating healthy environments in our schools.

“Seattle Public Schools takes our commitment to the health of our students, staff, and the planet very seriously,” said district Board President Dr. Brita Butler-Wall, who advocated for adoption of the policy. “We have embraced the concept of healthy learning environments through a strong policy preventing possible exposure to toxic chemicals such as pesticides.”

The policy is a result of years of work by dedicated school district employees, board members, community members, and Washington Toxics Coalition (WTC) staff members. In fall 2004 the school board began a Community Advisory Committee, chaired by WTC, to review the existing policy and make recommendations for updates or changes. Groundskeepers, district management, union representatives, and teachers worked alongside parents, doctors, toxicologists, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) experts, and community groups to forge a proposal to the board that reflects the best policies, science, and practices available today.

“I think the success of the committee was due to a commitment to create an environment that improves the health of the students and staff by reducing unnecessary exposure to hazardous pesticides,” said Steve Gilbert, Seattle toxicologist and committee member.

WTC has worked for several years with the Seattle schools to help identify ways to reduce pesticide use and advocate for adoption of a strong policy. “Parent and community involvement in this process were essential in order to draft a policy reflecting concerns about children’s health and the environment,” said Angela Storey, Healthy Schools Coordinator for WTC and chair of the Seattle committee. “This policy sets a high standard for other districts to meet.”

The new policy and procedures include:

• Use of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) at all school sites, with a focus on pest prevention and use of only least-toxic pesticides.
• A clear set of criteria for evaluating pesticides before their use in order to ensure that pesticides that can contribute to cancer, nervous system damage, reproductive harm, hormone disruption, or damage to the environment are not used. Exceptions to the criteria are evaluated for emergencies or persistent problems.
• A more thorough public notification and posting system when pesticides are used.
• Creation of an ongoing IPM committee consisting of district staff and community members to assist with implementation.

Seattle joins several other districts in Washington with strong pesticide-reduction policies, including the Vancouver, Bainbridge Island, and Sedro-Woolley districts. The policy will now go into effect at all of Seattle’s 100 sites.

WTC works with districts and communities around the state on reducing the use of hazardous pesticides. For more information about the Seattle policy or to work on pesticide reduction in your school or city, contact Angela Storey, astorey@watoxics.org or 206-632-1545 ext. 111.

Paddlers Explore Northwest Discovery Trail

- By Reed Waite of Earth Share organization Washington Water Trails Association

Forty-eight paddlers, sailors, and rowers, ages 6 to 84, set off the morning of Saturday, October 15, to dedicate four Northwest Discovery Water Trail public boat launch sites in the Tri-Cities. Local Washington Water Trail Association (WWTA) volunteers coordinated the event with help from WWTA’s Seattle office and the Northwest Discovery Water Trail Steering Committee. Mayors, port and park commissioners, architects, National Park Service staff, and citizens spoke at the various stops and resting places about the importance of water, rivers, and recreation in the their own lives, and the lives of their communities and nation.

The event was held in conjunction with the Tri-Cities’ Lewis & Clark bicentennial event, “Down the Great Columbia.” The boaters launched from Richland’s Columbia Point traveling with west winds and sunny skies “Down the Columbia” and took out at Sacajawea State Park in Pasco six hours and 12 miles later. Along the way they pounded in trail markers carrying National Park Service Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail decals. It was on the rivers that the Army Corps of Discovery traveled 200 years ago, assisted throughout their journey by native peoples. Encampments at Columbia Park and Sacajawea State Park included both Native American and pioneer re-enactors’ exhibits.

The next day 29 paddlers and rowers gathered at Hat Rock State Park to ‘Trace the Trail’ along the Columbia’s Oregon shore. Here the Northwest Discovery Water Trail parallels Umatilla County’s Lewis and Clark Commemorative walking and equestrian trail. Spiritual leaders from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla honored the river with a service, singing under a yellow canopy of poplars. Turning the tables on Captain Clark, portrayed by a modern day Army Corps of Engineers re-enactor, tribal leaders presented him a medal. In 1805 it had been Lewis and Clark who handed peace medals out. The paddlers were given medals, flags, and small gifts before launching downriver to McNary Beach in Umatilla.

The Northwest Discovery Water Trail will link the Clearwater River in Idaho, Snake River in Idaho and Washington, and Columbia River in both Washington and Oregon. The majority of the 367-mile water trail is in eastern Washington State, an area of incomparable beauty and astounding natural features. This water trail effort began with a meeting convened by the Army Corps of Engineers in the Tri-Cities November 2001. WWTA, representatives from tribes, county and state park departments, and various Lewis and Clark Bicentennial organizations agreed with the Corps Portland and Walla Walla District staff that the concept was sound and achievable. The October 2005 events were part of a year-long series of designation activities that will continue through the fall of 2006.

When joined with the Lower Columbia River Water Trail at Bonneville, the Northwest Discovery Water Trail will be part of a 474-mile water trail system spanning the width of southern Washington from Clarkston to Cape Disappointment.

For more information on the Northwest Discovery Water Trail visit www.ndwt.org or the Lower Columbia Water Trail. Information on other water trails in Washington and the volunteer, educational, and trail programs of Earth Share of Washington member Washington Water Trails Association can be discovered at its website - www.wwta.org

White Center Youth Restore Lakewood Park

- By Steve Dubiel of Earth Share organization EarthCorps

While many young people spent their summer watching TV and relaxing at home, 12 teens joined Earth Share organization EarthCorps to spend their summer restoring White Center’s Lakewood Park. Led by two EarthCorps young adult interns, the teens removed an enormous stand of invasive Himalayan blackberry and created technical design plans for fall plantings and maintaining the area.

“This program has been the most awesome thing I have ever done! It was so cool to know there were other people who cared what happens to our environment too. I am proud every time I see the area we cleared out…All I got to say is you guys rocked my summer!” - Ifrah Ahmed, age 15

Parks Corps participants, aged 13-17, camped for their first time, earned the respect of neighbors using the park, and created strong bonds across different age groups, schools, and ethnic backgrounds. As they completed hands-on work and a complementary education program, participants learned about the importance of urban forests. Youths learned about watersheds, identified their neighborhood watershed and drinking water supply, and explored the role of urban forests in water quality.

“Working here made me a stronger person. It’s shown me that if I put my mind to something that I could accomplish my goals…One of my favorite memories would be going camping. I didn’t think I would make it out alive being the very un-nature person I am. It surprised me how much fun it was. I’m especially proud that I actually hiked up Sauk Mountain. This has definitely been one of the best summers I’ve ever had.” - Nicole Ngyuen, age 14

Parks Corps is modeled on EarthCorps’ young adult training program. Participants spend 80% of their time engaged in service to the community through habitat restoration work. The remaining 20% is dedicated to education that gives participants greater awareness of environmental issues pertinent to their community, as well as of the larger environmental and social context. SPC is founded on a positive youth development approach. The program fosters caring, supportive relationships between teenagers and leaders, as well as peer-to-peer relations. Participants are held to high standards and program leaders are committed to helping them succeed.

Lakewood Park is in White Center, an economically distressed community located in unincorporated King County. One-third of all people in White Center speak a language other than English. The park is known by several names, including White Center Ponds, Lake Garrett, Lake Hicks and Lakewood Park. Efforts are underway to control the flooding and pollution damage in and around the lake, in part through the restoration of plant communities surrounding the lake.

EarthCorps’ mission is to build global community through local environmental service. Each year, EarthCorps leads 10,000 volunteers in environmental education, service and skill building activities. EarthCorps provides environmental service opportunities for people of all ages throughout the year. To learn more, visit www.earthcorps.org

Pilot Take-Back Program for Unwanted and Expired Household Pharmaceuticals

- By Jim Todd of Earth Share organization Washington Citizens for Resource Conservation

Have you ever wondered what to do with those unwanted pharmaceuticals in your medicine cabinet? Washington Citizens for Resource Conservation (WCRC), a Seattle-based Earth Share organization, has a grant from The Russell Family Foundation to help design and conduct a pilot program that will make unwanted pharmaceuticals as easy to return as they are to purchase. The concept of the pilot project is simple. Any and all unwanted household pharmaceuticals could be taken back to a local pharmacy. The participating pharmacies would accept pharmaceuticals during their regular business hours in a mailbox style slot near the pharmacy counter.

The purpose of the pilot take-back project is to demonstrate that the collection of household unwanted medicines at retail pharmacies is viable and can help reduce the potentially damaging environmental and health impacts of unsafe disposal practices in the Puget Sound area. WCRC is developing the pilot in collaboration with a coalition of diverse governmental and private organizations.

There is a growing awareness that pharmaceuticals are detectable at low levels in streams, lakes and other ground and surface waters in the Puget Sound environment. Unused pharmaceuticals enter streams and Puget Sound in part because people have few safe and convenient disposal options. To prevent accidental poisonings, public health officials often direct consumers to flush unwanted drugs down the toilet. From there the pharmaceuticals pass through wastewater treatment plants and into our streams and waterways. There are also concerns about the unsecured disposal of pharmaceuticals to the garbage as the discarded drugs can become targets of drug users and leachate from landfills may be discharged to water bodies via treatment plants or ground water.

While so far there is no direct evidence of adverse human health effects due to the presence of pharmaceuticals in water, there is much concern about what is not known. Data are available for less than 1% of human pharmaceuticals. Scientists have linked pharmaceutical wastes in surface waters to disturbing ecosystem changes and suspect that organic contaminants in the water from pharmaceuticals have the potential to disrupt the endocrine systems of hundreds of freshwater, estuarine and marine species as well as humans. Clearly, there is a need to address this problem by developing convenient and safe drop-off options for residents.

The set-up costs for the pilot project will be funded by public agencies and participating private companies. The long-term goal is to obtain funding for a permanent collection program from the pharmaceutical industry, in keeping with the philosophy of product stewardship and shared responsibility. Under this philosophy, local governments and taxpayers would not have to subsidize all of the disposal costs associated with healthcare. The manufacturers of pharmaceuticals would be responsible for the stewardship of their products on behalf of the communities they serve and the environment on which those communities depend for their health and well-being.

Watershed Gardens Connects Students to their Schools

- Submitted by Todd Burley from the Homewaters Projects

Last school year, the community at Shoreline School District’s Room Nine Journey School made a home for themselves in a new location. Their involvement in Homewaters Project’s Watershed Gardens program helped initiate deeper connections to their new site.

Watershed Gardens, now in its third year, focuses on water conservation and developing students’ awareness of the natural resources they use. Activities for 4th-6th graders integrate math, science, social studies, language arts, design and exercise. Homewaters’ Schools Coordinator, Linda Versage, trains teachers in the lessons and provides support and assistance throughout the year.

The immediate objectives are tangible. Students learn how water is used, how to measure it and how to conserve it. Then they design, plant and maintain a water-wise garden at their school and educate others.

But what are the long-term benefits of a year-long project like this for a school?

Teachers learn alongside their students. They commit to train, plan and do activities with their students that weave content together. When using project-based learning, teachers take a leap of faith to move forward with intention without knowing what the final outcome will be. This type of teaching opens the way for serendipitous learning experiences that could not be pre-planned.

Families become engaged. If students are enthusiastic about what they do at school, they talk about it at home. An extension to Watershed Gardens, with support from Seattle Public Utilities, allows families to measure their home water use. Parents may assist with the school garden, they see it when they visit school and families learn how to garden wisely at home.

School grounds are transformed by this project. Greening a schoolyard is something the entire school community appreciates and takes advantage of. Though modest in size, water-wise gardens can grow larger over time, acting as a catalyst for learning to expand beyond indoor spaces without leaving school.

Schools create their own sites for doing authentic field-based learning. Field trips are instrumental in connecting the real world to classroom leaning, yet they can be labor intensive for teachers and costly. Going on a field trip and connecting to place can be as simple as walking outside…no permission slips required!

Watershed Gardens can initiate these benefits in the center of Seattle, a large urban environment. This year, Homewaters Project is working with six Seattle Public School District teachers and their students from Kimball Elementary, Bryant Elementary and Summit K-12 on this project.

If you want to learn more about Watershed Gardens or other Homewaters Project programs go to www.homewatersproject.org or call 206-526-0187.

New Report on Hanford Reach finds Increased Contamination

- By Amalia Anderson of Earth Share organization Government Accountability Project

This summer, a report on the toxicity of the Hanford Reach was published by Marco Kaltofen of Boston Chemical Data Corp. in collaboration with the Government Accountability Project. The Hanford Reach National Monument is the only free-flowing, non-tidal part of the Columbia River left. It also serves as an important spawning ground for salmon and runs downstream through the Tri-Cities and to Portland. Yet, this rare ecological area and important lifeline for many people is threatened by its implicit designer and neighbor, The Hanford Nuclear Site, America’s largest nuclear waste site.

Kaltofen’s report examined the Hanford Reach at the perimeter of Hanford on the Columbia River for radioactive and chemical contamination. In this study some plants and animals were found to have much higher levels of radionuclides than previously reported. Of great concern in the study is the apparent biological concentration in plants and animals of Strontium-90, a radioactive isotope. Strontium-90 can be very dangerous in organisms because it acts like calcium, and the body treats it as such, putting it into permanent locations like bone. Additionally, Kaltofen reported finding plutonium in 17 out of 18 fish samples. Since plutonium was Hanford’s primary product, and the government does not test for plutonium in fish, the findings raise serious concerns about the extent and scope of Hanford’s pollution and its effect on the local ecosystems. Increased levels of mercury, beryllium, uranium, and cesium were also detected in aquatic creatures and the short and long term affects of these exposures remain largely unknown.

The research suggests an increased risk to the environment and surrounding communities as it implies that there are more radionuclides being transported through the groundwater than have been previously reported. Kaltofen’s report strongly indicates that more investigations into the state of the river should be done in order to more fully understand the extent of the river’s contamination. The Government Accountability Project is responding by calling for widespread testing independent of the Department of Energy, which controls The Hanford Nuclear Site.

The report can be read at www.whistleblower.org.

Upcoming Events & Volunteer Opportunities

• November 4-5 - Seattle Environmental Film Festival - The Hazel Wolf Environmental Film Network is proud to announce the 2nd annual Seattle Environmental Film Festival. The Seattle Festival will be held at the Broadway Performance Hall on November 4th and 5th 2005. The festival will include a full day and a half of films and visiting filmmakers. The weekend kicks off with a sneak preview VIP reception on Thursday evening November 3rd. For more information, please visit the event website at www.hazelfilm.org
• November 5 - EarthCorps Annual Auction - 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM – Location: Temple De Hirsch Sinai?1511 East Pike, Seattle. Some of the fabulous prizes include a Trip to Maui - Enjoy a four night five day stay at a fabulous resort in Maui, Hawaii. Airfare, transportation to and from the airport, and an island activity are included. Or Two weeks in Costa Rica - Relax in a rustic and fun house in the beach town of Playas del Coco, Costa Rica. Tickets are $50, reserve your seat today by calling Keith Cousins (206) 322-9296 ×101.
• November 6 - Faith & the Environment Event - Does God Expect Us to be Environmentalists? - ?1:00 to 3:30 PM - St. Luke’s Lutheran, 3030 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue - Join with religious leaders, community activists and your neighbors to find out what our faiths tell us about our responsibility as stewards of creation. Then find out what you can do in your church, your neighborhood, your state and the world to protect the earth and its people. Light Refreshments will be served. For more information, please contact Thea Levkovitz, Rev. Cheraga at 206 625 9790 ext 16.
• November 12 - Thornton Creek Restoration Work Party - 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Thorton Creek runs through the heart of North Seattle, from Lake Washington to Puget Sound. Not only is it the historical home of 5 species of salmon and trout, it is valuable habitat for urban wildlife and birds. The creek is the focal point of the Thorton Creek Watershed that 11.6 square miles of North Seattle, making it the largest watershed in Seattle. Being so urban has a cost. Thorton Creek is subject to flooding, its bottom is filling in as the result of sedimentation, and biodiversity amongst its wildlife is decreasing. But we are working to change all of that! Join EarthCorps, Seattle Public Utilities, and Seattle Parks as we fight to keep Thorton Creek a healthy vibrant part of Seattle! Volunteers will be mulching, maintaining past work sites, and removing invasive plant species from several parks along Thorton Creek. For more information, please contact Chris LaPointe at (206) 322-9296, ext. 217 or email chris@earthcorps.org
• November 17 - Washington Wilderness Coalition Annual Dinner & Silent Auction Featuring Nature Photographer Amy Gulick - 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM – Burke Museum, University of Washington Campus at 17th Ave. NE and 45th Street NE - Washington Wilderness Coalition invites you to join them for an evening supporting the protection of Washington’s wild forests. Enjoy a silent auction, hosted bar, catered dinner, remarks by award winning Arctic National Wildlife Refuge photographer Amy Gulick and a viewing of current exhibits at the Burke Museum, including Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land by photographer Subhankar Banerjee. For more information or to RSVP for the event contact Lisa at 206-633-1992 or visit www.wawild.org
• November 19 - Seward Park IvyO.U.T. - 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM - Work with EarthCorps and Friends of Seward Park as they continue to remove English ivy from the Park. English ivy is non-native invasive species with no natural predators or pests to keep it under control. The ivy poses a threat to places like Seward Park two ways, by creating “Ivy Deserts” - areas so dominated by ivy that no other vegetation can survive and by adding weight to trees, making the trees more susceptible to toppling over and to disease. By manually ripping ivy out of the park, they are helping to prevent this invasive species from taking hold and spreading. For more information about ivy removal, go to: www.ivyout.org. For more information about this event, please contact Chris LaPointe at 206-793-8030 or email chris@earthcorps.org.