Poisoned Waters

Several coworkers and family members have told me about "Poisoned Waters," which showed on KCTS on Tuesday. Unfortunately I missed the show, but here is an article discussing the special.

I'm glad to hear that viewers were so moved by the message - that Puget Sound, like Chesapeake Bay, is highly polluted. Locally the effects are seen in our Orca whale population. I've heard stories of dead Orcas that qualify as hazardous waste, as they have built up incredible levels of PCBs in their bodies. Sadly, this isn't a story of one particularly sensitive species. Orcas are top predators, and their contamination indicates that PCBs are both biomagnifying in the food chain and bioaccumulating in individual Orcas over their lives. Biomagnification occurs as higher trophic level animals accumulate the toxins of their prey species (i.e. an Orca eating salmon, which eats...). Each salmon has it's own load of toxins accumulated during it's life, and an Orca eats many salmon, thus building up a relatively larger load of toxins. The toxins continue to build as the whale ages, becoming more and more concentrated (bioaccumulation).

The good news is that the message is spreading. People for Puget Sound are strong advocates for our waters. The governor has shown her support for restoration efforts through the Puget Sound Initiative and Puget Sound Partnership. Citizens are beginning to see beyond the beautiful landscapes, and recognize that pollution isn't always easy to see.

As an aside, I was amused by the last portion of the P-I article, which references "Mr. Floatie." Got to love educational mascots! Especially a giant turd. See People Opposed to Outfall Pollution (POOP) to learn more.

A CSA drop site at Olympic Sculpture Park!

I'm so thrilled that announce that we will now host a Community Support Agriculture (CSA) drop site at the Olympic Sculpture Park! CSAs offer an amazing opportunity to support local farmers, and purchase delicious, organic produce. Local sourcing has become a big component of sustainability efforts, and my feeling is that it makes sense for cultural and economic reasons, in additional to environmental benefits. I also love that the program will offer local produce in an urban community, where opportunities for gardening are limited by condos and long waiting lists at pea patches.

Here are the details on the program:

Pick up your organic produce at the Olympic Sculpture Park!

Seattle Art Museum and TASTE are pleased to sponsor a drop site for Boistfort Valley Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program at the Olympic Sculpture Park.

At all three locations (the Seattle Art Museum Downtown, the Seattle Asian Art Museum and the Olympic Sculpture Park)—SAM and TASTE are committed to taking action to protect our environment and to finding creative ways to reduce our ecological footprint. Visit the Seattle Art Museum website to learn more about SAM’s environmental restoration goals, SAM Goes Green campaign, and art and environment programs. TASTE Restaurant, Cafes & Events supports these efforts by creating simple, upscale foods featuring fresh and seasonal ingredients. 89% of TASTE’s products are sourced from local farmers and artisans, such as Boistfort Valley Farm, in support of sustainable practices.

Boistfort Valley Farm’s CSA program offers:

• A selection of organic produce including fruit, herbs, and fresh flowers
• Recipe and serving suggestions free with your share
• About 20 weekly deliveries from mid-June through October (weather dependant)
• Both large and small shares available for purchase, with a discount for early payment:
  Family share: $600/season or $575 if paid by May 1
  Small share (feeds 2): $480/season or $460 if paid by May 1
• Program is administered by Boistfort Valley Farms. All proceeds go directly to the farm.

To learn more about the Boistfort Valley Farm CSA program and to sign up for your share, visit boistfortvalleyfarm.com. Be sure to select the Olympic Sculpture Park drop site.

Earth Day and simple living

Today is Earth Day(or E Day, according to Danielle). It's always fun to celebrate Earth Day, though in reality I typically celebrate Earth Week and Earth Month. Back in college, I organized University of Washington's Earth Week activities, including a festival, movies, tours, and networking events. I've been thrilled to learn that since my time at the UW several green student organizations have formed an alliance and are working together to plan the events.

More recently, I've organized activities for SAM. As my previous post describes, Climate Day for Kids is our big Earth Day event. For the last two years we have also hosted a work party from Arogy University. This year TASTE Restaurant offered a special Earth Day dinner featuring their local, organic culinary creations. I'm excited to see how things will continue to grow!

All these activities mean that April is always the start of my busy season. Earth Day flows right into Bike to Work Month, and the warm weather of the summer means more visitors, events, and work parties.

Admittedly, I was very stressed last week. But on Sunday and Monday I took the chance to relax and recover from the previous couple of weeks. On Sunday Dave and I did some serious gardening. I was tired from moving tables on Saturday, but it felt good to get outside and work. I ended up covered in dirt, but I was pretty happy about it. I thought that I would sleep in on Monday, but I woke up with the sun at 6:30am, and felt good! My back wasn't bothering me and I took pride in a productive day, organizing the office (the space that still needs the most work after my move) and donating and selling a number of items. It was gratifying to get rid of the clutter, find new homes for usable materials, and enjoy added free space!

I hadn't realized how much the stress was affecting my health. By Monday night I knew that I felt better - my back didn't hurt, I had energy, and I had a general sense of calm. After a day of time for myself, I was ready to round out the weekend with quality time with friends.

There is still a long way to go in my "busy season," but I continue to strive for balance and quality experiences. I'm finding joy in the little things - gardening, cooking, organizing, and spending time with Dave, friends, and family. I'm learning to set limits, and while I'm no expert yet, I think I'm making progress.

Climate Day for Kids

On Saturday I organized a big Earth Day event at the Olympic Sculpture Park, called Climate Day for Kids. It was a great event, with more than 400 visitors. Thanks to everyone who came!

Seattle Art Museum partners with community organizations, and we were happy to host a number of wonderful groups on Saturday. At SAM's station families were invited to assess their carbon footprint using an online tool courtesy of Seattle Climate Action Now. Then participants used recycled materials to create a carbon footprint sculpture. Extending into the amphitheater, artist Mandy Greer taught visitors to crochet pieces for a 200 foot long river installation she is creating for display this summer in Seattle parks. Indoors, parents from CoolMom.org organized a fantastic recycled materials project to create cars and buses out of food cartons (so cute). They also organized two of the four performances in the Art Lab, a puppet show and storytelling. Worms and dirt stole the show at Sustainable Belltown's worm bin station. Pacific Science Center brought out their Van de Graaff generator and other electricity visuals, and closed out the event with a great demonstration. Seattle Climate Action Now offered giveaways, and presented the Shrinking Bigfoot assembly in partnership with Seattle City Light. Puget Sound Clean Air Agency offered a great display with tons of giveaways, TASTE showcased their sustainable food options, and Xeko invited visitors to try out their endangered species trading card game. Out front, University of Washington's Botanic Gardens introduced families to the importance of trees for the climate, and Feet First offered a scavenger hunt and visits from the Feet First Chicken!

Wow! This was the second time I have organized this event, and I have to say that it really lived up to my hopes. The art activities engaged families in making a committment to reduce their impact, while demonstrating green art making and offering suggestions on sustainable lifestyle strategies. I was thrilled to have performances and demonstrations to add to the festival-like stations, and it is always amazing to see the Pavilion activated and full on visitors. It really embodies the free, open to the public design of the park.

Happy Earth Month to all!

Storming the Sound

Another flashback to last week...

First I should mention Salmon-Safe. I am proud to say that we recently earned Salmon-Safe certification at the Olympic Sculpture Park. In fact, we are the only site where the certification team saw adult salmon during an inspection. I was asked to join a panel for Seattle University's Working Cooperatively for Sustainability Conference, focusing on Salmon-Safe certification in the Seattle area. The sustainability managers for both PCC and REI joined me on the panel, along with Dan Kent of Salmon-Safe and Mary Rose of the Network for Business Innovation and Sustainability (NBIS). Unfortunately our panel had a low attendance (end of the day, things running long), but we still enjoyed a lively discussion about the merits of cerification for businesses - including green marketing, PR, expert advice, and partnerships.

Now on to my main topic: Storming the Sound. Rounding out a busy week full of speakers and meetings, I attended this conference at Chief Sealth High School in West Seattle. The focus was education about the Puget Sound ecosystem. First I attended a session about the new environmental and sustainability standards being produced by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). I was pleased to learn that they are moving along with these standards, and writing suggested integrations with the Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) to assist teachers. An environmental and sustainability overview course has also been approved for Occupational Education credit. If only that had counted when I was a student! I convinced my counselor that acting as a Peer Tutor to the AP Chemistry class WAS occupationally relevant for me (I still maintain that it was the best option).

Professor Julia Parrish spoke before lunch. I have the pleasure of knowing Julia through my work as an alumni with Program on the Environment. Julia also runs the COASST program, which has recently gained recognition as a model in the field of citizen science. While I am very familiar with Julia's work, I always appreciate discussion of citizen science. I think it is a fantastic way to increase public interest in environmental issues and build an informed citizen base.

After lunch I attended a session by People for Puget Sound discussing toxins. As an Environmental Studies student, I became accustomed to hearing frightening facts about pollution and environmental degredation. Still, it's always affecting (particularly when focused on health!). I was interested to learn that thyroid disease can have environmental causes, as I have taken daily medication for hypothyroidism since the age of 18. Most people are now familiar with the dangers of BPA, but I continue to be frustrated that no one has come up with a good option for recycling old Nalgene bottles and other BPA-ridden products. Is the landfill really our only option?

I always love the chance to reconnect with partners and colleagues, learn new things, and take a step back to remember why we do what we do!

Sandra Steingraber speaks at UW

Life has been a bit crazy lately, so I'm catching up on the development of this blog. In the near future I hope to post almost every day. But, for now, I return to a great event from last Tuesday...

I was thrilled to learn that author Sandra Steingraber was visiting the University of Washington, and presenting a public lecture. Steingraber can be considered "the new Rachel Carson." She is a cancer survivor, and traced her cancer to pollution in the book Living Downstream. I am more familiar with Having Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood, which I read when my research professor was pregnant back in 2005. I read the book out of curiosity and the desire to read something by Steingraber. While I wouldn't suggest reading it while actually pregnant, it was an eloquent story intertwining personal experience with evolutionary biology, chemistry, and environmental toxicology. As an environmental educator, I view my job as taking complexing concepts (like global climate change) and explaining them in ways people of all ages can understand. That is exactly the kind of work Steingraber creates.

Steingraber spoke openly of her experience with cancer. She told us that she in a waiting period, unsure whether or not her cancer has returned. Diagnosed with bladder cancer at just 20 years old, her story reminded me of an aquaintance. My friend recently shared with me that her brother's girlfriend (also 20 years old) has been diagnosed with cancer. The story of Steingraber's experience gave me hope for this wonderful young woman, who may inspire someone else one day.

As an Environmental Studies student, one often becomes overwhelmed with doom and gloom statistics about what is happening in nature. Steingraber spent some time on these facts, referencing her feelings regarding a woman's right to reproductive health unimpeded by toxins. She also touched on the REACH program of the E.U., which requires that products be proven safe for use. The program changes the burden of proof from the government to business, unlike the U.S. version which assumes safety until proven otherwise.

So, if I already know so many of the facts, why do I continue to attend events? Isn't it preaching to the choir? My answer: I go in search of inspiration and new ideas. Steingraber certainly met this need. She really came to life during the Q&A session, and seemed to let her thoughts flow honestly and openly. I admire that kind of eloquence. Likewise, she wasn't afraid to push limits - both in policy/advocacy, and in her personal life. How could you not admire a woman who can stand tall while facing cancer, present her own breast milk in a talk for the United Nations, and give her full attention to educating a small group of people in a lecture hall at the University of Washington?

Thank you, Sandra Steingraber!