Events & views - May 2009

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MAY 2009 Newsletter

• EVs in the Community
• EcoCenter Update
• Wild Crush 2009 Recap
• Beneath the Surface: Diatoms in the Bay
• Farm Tour
• School Services Update
• Katie's Kit Notes
• Who's News: Meet Wibke
• Addison School "Clean up the Bay Day"
• Great Non Profits
• Be Our Friend on Facebook and Twitter
• The Little Boy Who Could...

Wild Crush 2009 was a smashing success!  Thank you to all who supported this year's event.

With your help, Wild Crush raised $42,000 for Environmental Volunteers, exceeding our expectations and helping ensure that thousands of Bay Area school children will continue to benefit from EV programs.

If you were lucky enough to attend, we hope you enjoyed the evening. Please click here to see photos. We look forward to seeing you at our next event.

Floating in the waters of the San Francisco Bay is a veritable smorgasbord of yummy treats – that is if diatoms are your idea of fine dining.  Diatoms are a major component of plankton, which consists of all of the tiny organisms that drift along with the current. 

Diatoms are an important part of the food web in the San Francisco Bay.  They are a producer, making their own food through photosynthesis with yellow-brown chlorophyll (which is different from the green chlorophyll of most plants). Studies estimate that diatoms are responsible for 20-25% of all carbon fixation (photosynthesis, shell-building, etc.) on the planet.  A variety of species prey upon diatoms including small fish, clams, and other invertebrates.

Diatoms are microscopic single cell organisms that can also form large visible colonies.  They have a cell wall called a frustule made of silica (the main component of most forms of glass).  The cell wall has two valves that fit together like a Petri dish with one nesting into the other.  To reproduce, the valves separate and each one grows a new smaller valve.  This process results in ever shrinking cells.  When they become too small, they reproduce by forming an auxospore, a specialized cell that results in a new large cell.

Water quality studies often use diatoms as a measurement standard as their abundance varies with the quality of the water.  When diatoms are more abundant the rest of the aquatic ecosystem is also likely to be doing well. 

When we are walking in the salt marshes or sailing out on the bay, we often only think of the species we can see, the birds, or fish.  Next time take a moment to think about the tiny diatoms that help support the ecosystem of our beautiful bay.

Here's a fun opportunity from one of our partners in the Palo Alto office!

Join Committee for Green Foothills for a fun and educational tour of farms right here in Santa Clara Valley. This year’s inspirational event takes us to an urban school and community farms, where we’ll meet local educators and agents of change, hear their stories and hopes for the future, and enjoy fresh-from-the-field delights.

SATURDAY, JUNE 27, 2009 • 9AM-5PM

Tickets are $65 for CGF members and $85 for non-members. Tickets include transportation, tours and talks from local experts, a catered lunch, and wine tasting. Tickets for wine tasting only (3:30-5:00pm) are $20. All tickets must be purchased in advance.

Click on the veggies to the right to learn more.

School registration "sold out" in a few hours again this year. Thanks to great planning from Anita before she went on maternity leave, registration went off without a hitch.

Meet our Newest EV

Just a quick note to say that Anita is doing great with her new baby.  Mateo Patrick was born April 23 at 4:30 pm, weighing 8 pounds. Mom and baby are doing great.

Anita says, "I miss my EV family, but you can check out my new family on my blog where I am posting comments and photos of the baby. Take a look if you get the chance."

Since there has been some confusion around how to let me know that there is a problem with a kit, I thought I would talk about the process.  When you are at a service and notice a problem, pull a Mending our Materials form out of the kit’s script and fill it out. 

Give the form to the EV bringing the kits back to the office.  If you are the one bringing kits back, put the completed forms in front of all folders in the pockets in the materials room. 

There are more detailed instructions on my Kit Notes at your materials room as the two rooms are a bit different.

Thank you for your patience as I’m only one person and many of the fixes take time.  If you ever want to check the progress of your request, you can check the pending and completed forms in the pockets, send me an email, or catch me in the office or at an area meeting.  Thanks for all your help keeping our kits looking great!

Though Wibke has spent most of her life in Hamburg, she lived in Freiburg in the Black Forest for 6 years previous to coming here. Recently married, the Wittmanns moved here because of Oliver’s job in the field of solar energy. Wibke herself returned to Germany last fall for 3 months, also working with a solar energy company which will hopefully turn into a position for her here. Her educational background is in what she describes as wood technology, a combination of biology and engineering that deals with all aspects of wood—its uses, its trade and laws governing it. Before deciding on this field, Wibke apprenticed as a carpenter and began her schooling in biology.

Fluent in 5 languages, German, English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, Wibke has traveled extensively in Europe and in this hemisphere. She has hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu and spent a half year in Brazil working on her diploma thesis. Wibke’s avocations include music—she plays piano and clarinet and performed in choirs and bands at home. She enjoys swimming in the Pacific (a hearty soul!) and participating in capoeira, an Afro-Brazilian art form that combines movements from martial arts and dance.

Wibke misses the compactness of European city centers which makes driving less necessary. But she loves the weather and diversity of nature here. She finds us Californians open, friendly, and enthusiastic, and admires the spirit of “anything is possible” that she finds here. Wibke, we thank you for the enthusiasm and energy that you bring to the Environmental Volunteers!

On May 14, Addison School, one of the EVs "Educate for Depth" partners, brought the entire school out to the Palo Alto Baylands for their Addison Cleans the Bay Day. Almost 450 students cleaned up trash and removed invasive plants throughout the Baylands Preserve.

The EV provided a banner for the kids to write on and finish the sentence, "I love the Baylands because...", and we received some very thoughful, hopeful comments.

Thanks to Principal John Lents and Teacher Jackie Hurd, as well as all the teachers and parent drivers for putting this together.

The website "Great Non Profits" is way for people to share their stories with others about non profits they have worked with; recanting ways organizations may have touched them and changed their lives. From your perspective as a volunteer, please share your stories with others so they can know how "GREAT" it is to be a part of the Environmental Volunteers.

Click here to tell your story.

Stop Global Warming!

Ever wonder what more you can do to stop Global Warming? Well, so did Aitan Grossman, a 12 year old boy from the Peninsula. His response was to get other children from around the world to sing his song "100 Generations," which he wrote himself. Children sing his song in various languages from many countries which include Botswana, Venezuela and Taiwan. His great work was honored when he was awarded with Acterra's Action Hero last month. Please join Aitan in his efforts by listening to the songs on his page and spreading the word.

Feel like singing? Feel like ending Global Warming? You can do both by clicking Aitan's CD cover to the left to view his page.