On Saturday September 24, more than 40 people in Los Altos joined a demonstration for clean energy in one of thousands of events that took place across 170 countries for “Moving Planet,” a global day of action to “move the planet away from fossil fuels.” The worldwide event was organized by 350.org. “The planet has been stuck for too long with governments doing nothing about the biggest problem we’ve ever faced: the climate crisis,” said Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, the international climate campaign coordinating Moving Planet – a day for people to get the earth moving, rolling towards the solutions we need. From Cairo to Quito, from Dhaka to Denver, hundreds of thousands of people found ways to demonstrate their commitment to a safe climate future — without using a drop of oil. In Los Altos, bikers and walkers visited creative, environmentally sustainable projects taking place in the local community.  Mayor Ron Packard kicked off the tour, identifying a number of things the City of Los Altos has done to advance sustainability and noting that “We need sustainable solutions for the health of our planet.  This group and this tour demonstrate that our citizens want a clean energy future.” Stops on the tour included: The Packard Foundation Construction Site. Tour guests learned from Margie Suozzo, head of GreenTown Los Altos, that this building is designed to produce on-site all of the energy it needs, will be carbon neutral, and will meet the greenest building standard in the U.S.:  the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum certification. The building will be the first LEED Platinum building in Los Altos. Learn more about the Packard Foundation headquarters. Almond Elementary School Living Classroom Gardens. Vicki Moore, founder of the Living Classroom, told tour participants about hands-on, garden-based lessons offered to Los Altos School District children. These popular activities support curriculum instruction in science, math and even history and give elementary and junior high students in our community an opportunity to connect with nature. Learn more about the Living Classroom. Los Altos High School Parking Structure Solar Array. The group heard from Sybil Cramer, Green Team Parent Liasion, about the $250,000 per year in electricity savings that the school district is realizing from the solar photovoltaic shade structures. Participants also learned about other green initiatives at the school, including the process and requirements that the school met to become certified as a green business. Los Altos History Museum “Riveropolis” Workshop. Tour guests heard from Linda Gass, curator of the exhibition Shaped by Water: Past, Present and Future, which opens October 8, about the impact of climate change on our water resources. The tour group was then invited to participate in a tree-building workshop to help create Riveropolis, a hands-on social sculpture of an orchard river.  This interactive exhibit will be installed October 15-16.  Learn more about the Shaped by Water exhibit. Part of Packard Foundation’s mission is “conserving and restoring the earth’s natural systems.” And they’re walking the walk. The building is designed to be replicable – a model for other local commercial buildings to emulate. We’re proud that Packard Foundation is in Los Altos and that they will offer our community this incredible building to educate and inspire us all towards greater sustainability.

With conservation as one of its chief concerns, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation is leading by example. The Foundation it applying its environmental values to its new headquarters building in Los Altos. The building is designed to be a net-zero energy, carbon neutral, LEED (US Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum building. Buildings, on average, use 40% of the energy and 70% of the electricity consumed in the U.S. The typical California office building uses most of its electricity in lighting (41%) cooling (15%), heating (12%) and office equipment and other plug loads (11%). Packard Foundation’s goal is to reduce its carbon footprint by 80% by 2050, in line with the goals set by AB 32, California’s global warming legislation. And with the new building, they’re well on their way! The new Packard Foundation headquarters is due to open in Spring 2012. The building, located at 343 Second Street in Los Altos, is approximately 45,000 square feet and designed to accomodate more than 120 employees. The design team includes EHDD Architecture (architect), Integral Design group (green mechanical engineering), Tipping Mar (structural engineers), Loisos and Ubbelohde (lighting and daylighting designers), and Sherwood Design Engineers (civil engineers and ecologists). Features of the Packard Foundation Headquarters Design include the following: Recycling of prior building site buildings: Buildings previously on the site were deconstructed and 95 percent of the materials recycled; Energy savings in lighting, HVAC and plug loads: Significant energy reductions were achieved in areas of lighting, HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air conditioning), and plug loads Lighting:  To reduce lighting energy use, designers maximized daylighting. The design features a high window-to-wall ratio, achievable with triple-pane glass, and customized skylights that help create a space that doesn’t feel like the lights need to be turned on. The upgrade to high-efficiency glazing cost approximately $75,000 but offset the use of $300,000 worth of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity.The custom skylights were also designed to minimize summertime heat gain and include etched glass to reduce glare, which is important for office uses. The effort to maximize daylighting combined with high efficiency lighting and occupant controls significantly reduced lighting loads. HVAC:  HVAC system includes a compressor-less chilled beam system which naturally cools water at night and circulates the cold water through pipes during the day, cooling the air without the need for a compressor. The heating system includes an air-to-water source heat pump. Plug loads:  Designers looked at the electricity consumed by small appliances and equipment, from servers to coffee makers. By specifying the most energy-efficient appliances and equipment, the designers anticipate that plug loads will be reduced by nearly 60% relative to a baseline considering equipment that Packard Foundation currently uses. On-site renewable energy generation: Energy will be generated on-site by solar PV panels with a 300 kW capacity. Over the course of a year, the PV system will supply all needed electricity, making the building net zero energy. In the winter, the building will be a net energy importer, and in the summer, a net exporter. Before daylighting, cooling and plug load savings, the Packard Foundation building would have required more than 750 kW of PV capacity. The avoided PV saved Packard Foundation $4 million. Rainwater harvesting and greywater system: Packard Foundation had a 50% water use reduction goal. Rainwater and greywater (used water from sinks and showers) will be harvested in two 25,000 gallon cisterns and used for toilet flushing and watering plants. Stormwater management: Parts of the public street adjacent to the Packard Foundation building was designed to include rain gardens that will treat stormwater runoff and four surface parking lots will be retrofitted with vegetated swales and infiltration basins for the same purpose. Parking management: Packard Foundation headquarters will provide 67 parking spaces instead of the city-required 151 for a building of comparable size. Employees will have access and incentives to take alternative modes of transportation, including car-sharing and subsidized transit passes. Part of Packard Foundation’s mission is “conserving and restoring the earth’s natural systems.” And they’re walking the walk. The building is designed to be replicable – a model for other local commercial buildings to emulate. We’re proud that Packard Foundation is in Los Altos and that they will offer our community this incredible building to educate and inspire us all towards greater sustainability.

One of the very interesting stops on our September 24th “Moving Planet” tour was the Living Classroom at Almond Elementary School.  The founder of this unique learning environment, Vicki Moore,  described the hands-on, garden-based lessons offered to Los Altos School District children. These popular activities support curriculum instruction in science, math and even history and give elementary and junior high students in our community an opportunity to connect with nature. The program is aimed at students in grades K-7.  Forty-five lessons are given by trained volunteer docents in topics such as biodiversity, habitats, Native American uses of plants, experimenting with plants using the scientific method, plant life cycles, and how plants shaped world history.  Most lessons use the school gardens (including native habitat and edible gardens), while all lessons use living things to teach to key state standards. All 9 schools in the Los Altos School District now have Living Classroom gardens and over 500 lessons are already scheduled for the current school year.  The program relies entirely on private donations, the support of local nurseries and businesses and the efforts of volunteer docents.  Volunteers are also needed to help maintain the gardens and monetary donations are always appreciated.

Riders gather at 2nd & Main for 10/1/11 ride We kicked off the month of October on Saturday 10/1 with another great GreenTown Los Altos “First Saturday” bike ride.  We had a record dozen children under 10 – with lots of kids on bikes or kids simply taking in the scenery from the comfort of bike trailers.  There was even one amazing 3 1/2 year-old, Weston, riding a two-wheeler WITHOUT training wheels!  He covered at least half the trip, pumping his muscular little legs on his miniature cycle, then relaxed for a snooze with a friend in a bike trailer.  Gary Hedden led 24 riders on the back streets of Los Altos.  We learned about some of our historical buildings along the way, stopped briefly at the History Museum to talk about the upcoming exhibition “Shaped by Water,” stopped again at Almond Elementary School to check out the gardens of the Living Classroom and finally made our way to the best stop of all – The Creamery at Rancho Shopping Center for ice cream.  Some terrific prizes from Chef Chu’s, Peggy’s Health Center and Bicycle Outfitters were raffled off in a free drawing. Join us next month on Saturday, November 5 at 4 pm.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District offers a rebate if you replace some or all of your lawn with drought saving native plants. We realize that it may be hard to know where to start when thinking about what plants to use instead of the turf. California native plants and grasses are ideal because not only do they save water, but they also foster indigenous pollinators and birds while requiring less maintenance, fertilizers, and chemicals. And Fall is a great time to plant. But a poorly designed native garden can look a little “rugged” and learning about native plants can be daunting at first. Jump-start your project by using a professional to design a native garden.  Here are some resources to help you: The Gardening with Natives group of the California Native Plant Society.  Their web site has a wealth of information on native plants, where to buy them, and professionals who design and install native gardens. The California Native Plant Society will have its next native plant sale on October 15th at Hidden Villa, beginning at 10:00am. Yerba Buena nursery on Skyline Drive is a great place to visit to get ideas.  They also offer a 4-hour design package with some of the fee credited toward plant purchases. The Bay Area Water Supply & Conversation Agency (BAWSCA) offers a great tool on their website for viewing native plants. The UC Cooperative Extension has a list of native grasses. The UC Davis Arboretum All-Stars are all drought tolerant, but not necessarily native. #GardeningwithNativePlants #SantaClaraValleyWaterDistric #TurfReplacement

Patty Rosewater It is with great sadness that we acknowledge the passing of a dear friend, environmental activist, and superb project manager, Patty Rosewater. Patty was tireless in her work with GreenTown Los Altos. As a Core Leadership Team member, she ran our weekly phone conference calls with style and enthusiasm. She also acted as GreenTown’s Finance Committee Chair, managing our finances and relationship with our fiscal sponsor, Acterra. But more importantly, she was a friend to all of those who worked with her and knew her through GreenTown. Her tireless optimism, beautiful smile, and great listening skills made everyone feel immediately at home and welcomed. We will miss you dearly Patty but your spirit and your infectious enthusiasm will live on through us. To leave a note for her husband Tim or daughter Lindsay, please visit the San Jose Mercury News Guest Book for Patty. Several events are planned in the coming weeks and months to honor Patty’s life: Monday, September 12, the Environmental Commission will dedicate it’s meeting to Patty Rosewater. In addition to her GreenTown work, Patty also chaired the Los Altos Environmental Commission. There will be an opportunity to speak in public comment about Patty and her contribution to our local environment and our lives. Los Altos Council Chambers, 7pm. Tuesday, September 13, Los Altos City Council will discuss dedicating a memorial tree and plaque in Los Altos in Patty Rosewater’s memory. Los Altos Council Chambers, 7pm. November 1-30, Reflections on Water: Multimedia Art Exhibit at the Los Altos Library in conjunction with the Los Altos History Museum’s Shaped by Water exhibition will be dedicated to Patty’s memory. Patty ran the “call for art” for the exhibit. Los Altos Library, library hours. Artist Reception November 8, 6:30 – 7:30 pm. www.santaclaracountylib.org October 8-April 22, the Los Altos History Museum exhibit Shaped by Water will include a labyrinth in the courtyard, designed to inspire reflection about how water has shaped our lives. The labyrinth will be dedicated to Patty Rosewater. #GreenTownLosAltos #PattyRosewater

“Like” us on Facebook! In keeping with the times, GreenTown Los Altos has made a Facebook page to update the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills community on what we’ve been up to.  Our goal for this year is to have 300 Facebook supporters. Please join us. Here’s how: 1. Log in to your Facebook account. 2. Type “GreenTown Los Altos” into the search bar at the top of your Facebook profile and click “See results for GreenTown Los Altos”. 3. Click on the link to the GreenTown Los Altos Facebook page (it should be the first result that appears). Once on the page, click the “Like” button located next to the page title. Great! Alternatively, if you see this ad in your Facebook sidebar (on the right hand side of your Facebook profile), simply click “Like”. #Facebook #GreenTownLosAltos

They’ll be rallying in Annapolis, Md., to support offshore wind power. They’ll be flying message kites on Bondi Beach, Australia, to stop pollution. They’ll be reading poetry in Vancouver, BC, to resist the construction of an oil pipeline. Los Altos joins this global effort of more than 1,000 events around the world on Saturday, Sept. 24, when GreenTown Los Altos hosts the Moving Planet Sustainability Tour. “Our Moving Planet event will showcase four outstanding projects located right here in our town,” says GreenTown event organizer Gary Hedden. “We’ve set it up so you can either bike or walk to each stop where you’ll hear a short presentation.” View the tentative schedule. The Almond School Native Garden, part of the Living Classroom Program, is one of four stops on the Sept. 24 GreenTown Los Altos Sustainability Tour. Organized by GreenTown Los Altos with help from the Living Classroom Program, Bicycle Outfitter, and Chain Reaction Bicycles, the tour begins at 1 p.m. at Hillview Community Center and will last about two hours. The route includes stops at a Net Zero Energy building, an educational garden project, a solar energy system and the Los Altos History Museum for a discussion of the impact of climate change on future water supplies. Moving Planet is a day of action developed by 350.org as part of its international campaign to slow the rate of global warming. The organization takes its name from data that suggests that, to avoid a climate “tipping point,” the upper safety limit of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) is 350 parts-per-million (ppm). Today’s CO2 concentration, reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, stands at 392 ppm. In 2008, Los Altos signed the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement that encourages local policies and actions to reduce global-warming pollution. The city has already inventoried municipal and community greenhouse gas emissions and is in the process of developing a sustainability element for its general plan. Mayor Ron Packard, who will speak at the event kickoff, says, “We appreciate GreenTown’s leadership in providing environmental education to our community at events like the Sustainability Tour.” GreenTown Chair Margie Suozzo, says that when the community non-profit began in 2007 under the name Cool Los Altos, its primary focus was climate-change mitigation. “In the past few years, GreenTown has broadened its scope to include waste reduction, water stewardship, sustainable transportation and energy conservation. We want to make our community more environmentally healthy today and for future generations.” To sign up for the GreenTown Los Altos Sustainability Tour visit http://www.moving-planet.org/events/us/los-altos/1153. For more information on the Moving Planet day of action, visit http://www.moving-planet.org/. Peg Champion is a member of GreenTown Los Altos and the principal of Champion Organic Communications. Her work focuses on communication and education strategies to encourage sustainable behavior. For more information visit www.ChampionOrganic.com #350org #GreenTownLosAltos #MovingPlanet

by Joe Eyre The City of Los Altos is planning to develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the development of the downtown plazas 1, 2, and 3 (by the Los Altos Grill and Walgreens). You NOW have the opportunity to provide input to the City on what the RFP should specify for this very important downtown project.   You can do this in one or more of the following four ways before the City Council’s public Study Session about the Opportunity Study RFP on September 27th at 5:30pm: 1.  By Friday September 16th, express your thoughts on the RFP Suggestion Box blog. This blog is open to the public and will be shared with the City Council and staff prior to the September 27th Council study session.  To do this: Go to http://welovelosaltos.wordpress.com/ Click on “Plaza Development RFP Suggestion Box” Read the welcome note and instructions, then scroll down past the plaza map to find comment topic categories Click “Leave a comment” in whatever category you feel your comment fits best, or leave a comment in “General Comments” You do not need to log in or register – you can leave a comment as a guest by clicking “Guest” 2.  Provide written comments to City staff by September 19th, that will be incorporated into the materials for the September 27th study session (they need time to prepare the public hearing agenda report). Send your thoughts to: Lee Price, City Clerk, City of Los Altos One North San Antonio Road, Los Altos, CA 94022 Or, email Lee Price at lprice@losaltosca.gov 3. Email your City Councilmembers directly by sending your thoughts to council@losaltosca.gov. You can do this at any time before September 27th, so they have your feedback before the Opportunity Study RFP Study Session 4. Attend and speak at the September 27th RFP Study Session at 5:30pm in the Council chambers at 1 N. San Antonio Road, Los Altos. Anyone gets 2-3 minutes to voice their thoughts directly to the Council, and they enjoy hearing productive, creative ideas from the public! For more information on this topic, look for the document called Final Downtown Opportunity Study on the city’s web site.

By Peg Champion, GreenTown Los Altos Correspondent Christian Foley, student at Gardner Bullis Elementary, biked to his first day of school. It’s a sparkling clear September morning in Los Altos, and children are streaming into school, chattering with their friends. Bikes of every color, size and style fill the bike racks.  No idling cars spew exhaust fumes in the drop-off lane, no stressed-out parents sit behind steering wheels –– just kids biking or walking to school. This may appear like an idyllic scene from the past, but it’s the future vision of Michael McTighe, chair of GreenTown Los Altos’ Walk or Wheel (WoW!) program. “In addition to reducing carbon emissions and vehicle miles traveled,” says McTighe, “our primary goal this year is increasing the number of students who walk or ride to school by 20 percent.” WoW! evolved from the Freiker –– short for “frequent biker” –– program launched by Jon Simms at Almond Elementary School two years ago. GreenTown partnered with Simms to expand Freiker to Santa Rita, Springer and Egan Junior High School. More than 1,000 students took part during the program’s first years. This month GreenTown, school PTAs and parent volunteers will expand the program to the other five Los Altos district schools and to several private schools, including Bullis Charter School. The WoW! program is both green and high-tech. Four WoW! schools use a solar-powered, wireless-enabled Radio Frequency Identification reader (RFID) called the Zap, developed by Boltage (formerly Freiker). When students wearing a RFID tag, walk or wheel under the Zap, it beeps, recording their unique number in their personal account. In early September, WoW! will establish a baseline of the number of students getting to school by car, bike or on foot. Students’ success in walking or wheeling will be measured throughout the school year. GreenTown partners with school PTAs to reward students with stickers, wristbands and pizza parties. WoW! students benefit from outdoor exercise, but parents have seen another advantage – with each trip, children become more self-assured. “Since Brandon began riding to school, I’ve seen a transformation,” says Michelle Le, whose son is now a student at Egan. “He has developed confidence and a real sense of responsibility to the group of friends he rides with.” Peg Champion is the principal of Champion Organic Communications. Her work focuses on communication and education strategies to encourage sustainable behavior. #boltage #walk #zap #WOW #losaltosschools #freiker #bike

As part of a district-wide sustainability initiative, the Mountain View Los Altos High School District installed solar photovoltaic shade canopies in the parking lots to help offset electricity use at the two high school campuses.  The system, turned on around Earth Day 2011, is expected to provide enough power to meet half of the district’s electricity needs. You can now view real-time data on how much electricity the system is generating at each school (see Los Altos High School or Mountain View High School) as well as information on carbon emissions and pollutants avoided as a result of using the sun’s energy for electricity (note: though these numbers are based on coal-fired plants and not the PG&E electricity mix). Here’s an overview: Los Altos High School’s system has the following features: 34,000 square feet of solar panels that provide parking lot shade a rated capacity of 464 kW; and generated over 393,000 kWh of electricity since installed Mountain View High School’s system has the following features: 57,000 square feet of solar panels that provide parking lot shade a rated capacity of 776 kW; and generated over 517,000 kWh of electricity since installed Over their life to date, the High School District’s two systems have generated enough energy to provide 1,028 home with power for a month or to drive the family sedan 1.38 million miles! Thanks to Sybil Cramer, Los Altos High School Green Team Liaison, for letting GreenTown know about this site. Go solar!

We are in the height of the summer, so we want to remind you that it’s a good time to get “water wise.” The Santa Clara Valley Water District offers free Water-Wise House Calls that identify water leaks and ways you can save water – and money – indoors and out. To schedule a House Call, call 800-548-1882 or make an online request. GreenTown Los Altos has the goal of at least 100 homes in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills completing a Water-Wise House Call this year. To jump-start this, the first 25 homes to sign up will be entered into a raffle for a $100 gift certificate from a local native plants nursery. To enter the drawing, mention GreenTown Los Altos when scheduling your call and email Joe Eyre at water@greentownlosaltos.org after you’ve scheduled your appointment. Learn more about the GreenTown Los Altos Water Stewardship program. #santaclaravalleywaterdistrict #waterwisehousecall