Download the EcoAct Program Brochure (PDF)
Business
Waste Reduction
Waste Free Schools Program
County
of Santa Cruz Home Composting Program
Green
Building Pilot Project
Annual
Coastal Cleanup
Napa
Sonoma Use Oil Opportunity Grant
Motor
Oil Quart Bottle Recycling Program
Motor
Oil Recycling Block Grant Program
Monterey
Bay Area Green Business Program
IPM
Assistance to Professional Landscapers,
Gardeners, and Schools [PRISM Grant]
Santa
Cruz County Integrated Pest Management
Grant
Rightlights
Program
Santa
Cruz County Electric Bike Commuter Incentive
Program
Business
Waste Reduction - WasteNot Development - Packaging
Outreach – Recycling
Hotlines, Publications and Special Events
Funder: Santa
Cruz County Public Works, EA Development
Funding Level: $45,950
Program Partners: Waste
Management of Santa Cruz County
Timeline: BWR
and WasteNot development work extending in this
fiscal year from December through February. Packaging
work to be implemented in May and June.
Staff Members Working on Project: Victor
Aguiar is completing the BWR scope of work in
collaboration with County staff, and with the
assistance of volunteers for data entry. Development
of WasteNot software is carried out exclusively
by Victor Aguiar. Packaging work will be a collaboration
of Victor Aguiar and additional staff as yet
to be determined.
BUSINESS WASTE REDUCTION
Overview and Scope of Work: Ecology
Action's WasteNot solutions for solid waste reduction
utilizes our WasteNot software to conduct solid
waste audits for businesses and/or trains a business
to use the software for their own waste reduction
audits. This year the scope of work was redefined
to prioritize an upgrade to the WasteNot software.
The upgrade would allow integration with waste
hauler records, recording waste hauling history,
follow-up reminders, an improved interface, and
extensive outreach reporting by generating Excel
spreadsheets. The software would then be installed
on a County computer. This work is complete as
this summary is prepared. Remaining is to conduct
field work providing waste reduction assistance
to businesses, while training new County staff
in assistance procedures and use of the WasteNot
system.
Target Audience(s): Businesses
and institutions in the unincorporated area and
the City of Scotts Valley.
Desired Behavior Changes: The
goal is to motivate operators to institutionalize
and enforce waste reduction through policy, infrastructure,
communication, directive, and supervision.
Desired Outcomes of Program: The
objective is to set County staff on a course
that will result in providing assistance to upwards
of 50 businesses by June 1. We would hope to
see this result in a rise in the diversion rate
for these businesses by over 100 tons per year.
Results: To
date this program has assisted 624 businesses
in identifying, designing, and implementing waste
minimization measures using Ecology Action’s
proprietary WasteNot© audit and
tracking software. Estimated waste diversion
resulting from this work totals 2,843 tons per
year, or approximately 20 tons per business yearly
on average. The savings to each business
averages $2,646 annually. To
date this year, the WasteNot software is upgraded and installed
on a County Computer. The software update has
not been completed
WASTENOT DEVELOPMENT
Overview and Scope of Work: This
includes work incurred in upgrading the WasteNot
software which fell outside of the County’s
requested changes, but was required to ensure
the commercial viability of WasteNot for other
EA clients. This is mostly limited to interface
developments, retaining previously developed
features, and providing flexibility for incorporating
waste hauler information and populations.
Target Audience(s): Communities
and large businesses
Desired Behavior Changes: Adopting
BWR programs using WasteNot.
Desired Outcomes of Program: Increased
sales of WasteNot software and services.
Results: None
expected until marketing takes place. Efforts
now focused on County of Santa Cruz involvement.
PACKAGING OUTREACH
Overview and Scope of Work: The
contract calls for preparation of data and tools
to conduct a survey to measure compliance with
the County’s Environmentally Acceptable
Packaging Ordinance. The survey will be conducted
in the summer months, after the beginning of
the new fiscal year and under its contract. We
are also to conduct research and promotion as
directed by County staff.
Target Audience(s): Unincorporated-area
food service establishments.
Desired Behavior Changes: Transition
to environmentally acceptable food packaging
choices as defined by the ordinance.
Desired Outcomes of Program: Increased
awareness of alternatives to plastic and polystyrene
foam packaging.
Results: None
yet.
RECYCLING HOTLINES, PUBLICATIONS AND SPECIAL
EVENTS
Overview and Scope of Work: Ecology
Action maintains and upgrades a variety of educational
services for the County of Santa Cruz on an ongoing
basis. This work includes annually updating The
Environmental Shopping Guide (formerly The
Buy Recycled Guide)
and The Where to Recycle Guide for
Residents and Businesses. We then update this
information on Earth 911’s website and
on EA’s web site. Ecology Action translates
these and any other waste reduction publications
as requested to Spanish for the County. EA also
maintains the County recycling “InfoLine” by
writing, updating, and recording the phone script
in Spanish and English, and by recording and
responding to inquiries on a daily basis. In
addition to these tasks, EA coordinates and staffs
information booths at four annual events (plus
others as requested) and assists the County with
designing and placing advertisements, PSA’s,
newspaper inserts, and hauler bill inserts promoting
County recycling services.
Target Audience(s): Residents
and businesses within the unincorporated area
of the County that receive, or are eligible to
receive, refuse collection services from the
County’s franchisee, Waste Management of
Santa Cruz.
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Waste Free Schools Program
Overview and Scope of Work: The
Waste Free Schools Program (WFS)
is an innovative, collaborative, award-winning
program which assists Santa Cruz County schools
in institutionalizing on campus recycling, composting
and reducing/reusing programs while instilling
in the students and school staff a sense of environmental
stewardship. The WFS is a joint program of Ecology
Action, Life Lab Science Program and
the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. The
role of each of the program partner is as follows:
Ecology Action: Ecology Action’s
role in the WFS is to provide technical assistance
for schools in establishing functioning waste
reduction systems on campus. Ecology Action provides
necessary infrastructure, ensures communication
between key participants, works with waste haulers,
and continually evaluates current systems for
improvement and expansion. Ecology Action staff
conducts waste assessments for each participating
school at the beginning of every school year.
A follow up waste assessment is also done at
the end of each school year.
Life Lab Science Program: Life
Lab Science Program’s role in the WFS
is to increase resource conservation related
education to students at participating schools
and to provide three to five trainings annually
in continuing education for WFS lead teachers.
One to three lead teachers are designated at
each school and are required to attend on-campus
meetings with WFS staff, communicate with fellow
staff regarding WFS on campus, follow through
on established tasks, set up, maintain and improve
of recycling, composting, reducing/reusing systems,
participation in WFS teacher trainings, and
use of environmental education curriculum in
their classrooms
Santa Cruz County Office of Education:
The Santa Cruz County Office of Education (SCCOE)
is the fiscal fiduciary of the WFS. The SCCOE
also supports program partners through printing,
administrative and graphic design assistance.
Additionally, the students of participating schools,
under teacher supervision, are required to put
on one event that spreads the resource conservation
message to the greater school community each year.
Target audience(s): All
public schools in Santa Cruz County, Public School Administrators, Staff, Students, and the greater
community.
Funders: City
of Capitola, City of Santa Cruz, City of Scotts
Valley, County of Santa Cruz, and Waste Management
of Santa Cruz.
Funding Level: $52,246
Program Partners: Ecology
Action, Life Lab Science Program and Santa Cruz
County Office of Education.
Timeline: Funded
for fiscal year 2004. Currently negotiating 2
year budget for 2005/2006.
Staff Members Working on Project: Molly Ober is the Program Manager and is supervised
by Kirsten Liske.
Desired Behavior Changes: set
up, maintenance, and improvement of paper, cardboard
and mixed container recycling, food composting,
and a wide variety of reuse and reduce systems.
Desired Outcomes of Program:
institutionalizing on campus recycling, composting
and reducing/reusing programs while instilling
in the students and school staff a sense of environmental
stewardship. To date we have reached 27 schools
and plan to continue outreach to new schools
eventually reaching all the schools throughout
Santa Cruz City and County.
Results: The
WFS was established in September 1997. At that
time, there were five participating elementary
schools. The WFS is now in its 7th year and
has provided support and technical assistance
to 27 elementary, middle and high schools throughout
the County. As of last year, the WFS has succeeded
in diverting over 1200 tons of material from
local landfills and have saved local school districts
approximately $100,000 in reduced garbage hauling
costs. These figures are from last year and by
the end of this year we will see an even greater
amount of diverted materials and cost savings
to schools. Our website is wastefreeschools.org
and will be updated next month.
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County of Santa Cruz Home Composting Program
Overview and Scope of Work: Home
Composting Workshops (4 per year), Composting
Information booths (25 per year), Master Composter
Training Program (Jan-March), Manage the Rotline, Develop independent County of Santa Cruz Home Composting
Website, and
Translate County composting resources to Spanish.
Target Audience(s): Primary
Target Audience: Waste Management (WM)
customers who have the opportunity to reduce
their waste stream through composting incentives
sponsored by the County of Santa Cruz (ie: Free
Compost/Worm bin in exchange for yard waste cart,
reduced prices on bins, free composting workshops
and MC training program, information, and troubleshooting
services via the Rotline).
Secondary Target Audience: All persons residing
in Santa Cruz County with an interest in home-scale
conversion of food and yard “waste” into
a beneficial soil amendment.
Funders: County
of Santa Cruz
Funding Level: $38,715
Program Partners: County
of Santa Cruz, Waste Management. Activities of
Co. of SC home composting program are limited
to the unincorporated area of the county including
Aptos, Bonny Doon, San Lorenzo Valley, Live Oak,
Soquel, and South County.
Timeline: Annual
fiscal year project.
Staff Members Working on Project: Sherry Lee Bryan, Project Manager; Victor Aguiar,
BWR Program Director, Master Composter volunteers
Desired Behavior Changes: Diversion
of organic (compostable) waste materials away
from County landfill at point of origin. Utilization
of composting incentive programs from local municipalities.
Desired Outcomes of Program: Extend
the life of the Buena Vista landfill in accordance
with AB 239. (Counties must achieve 50% diversion
of waste stream by 2000). Reduce
dependence on NPK fertilizers which have the
potential to cause stress or mortality in endangered
(and other) species inhabiting county waterways.
Increased public awareness of composting resources
available.
Results: A
total of 3 Workshops have been conducted thus
far with two more scheduled for March and April
of 2004. Ten Information booths were coordinated
and attended last fall at Cabrilllo, Felton,
and Live Oak farmers markets. Fifteen more
will be scheduled from March-June, 2004. Thirty
MC volunteers have been recruited and are currently
being trained for the Class of 2004. The Rotline
is currently responding to 15-20 composting information
requests per month. The Home Composting Independent
Website is scheduled for completion at the beginning
of the event season of 2004 (mid-March).
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Green Building Pilot Project
Overview and Scope of Work: This
project will promote development of markets for “green” and
salvaged building materials in Santa Cruz County.
We will achieve this through the development
of educational resources distributed through
high-visibility kiosks, a brochure, and a web
tool, which together will provide key information
specific to Santa Cruz County. The five kiosks
will display samples of waste-reducing, environmentally
preferable building materials; the brochure will
highlight the benefits, local and regional availability,
and critical criteria for selection of “green” building
materials (distributed via the kiosks); and the
Internet site will expand upon the content of
the pamphlet and kiosks and direct building professionals
to targeted green materials information resources.
Target Audience(s): General
Public, Architects, Designers, and Builders.
Funders: County
of Santa Cruz, City of Santa Cruz
Funding Level: $25,000
pending - County of Santa Cruz, $5,000 pending – City
of Santa Cruz
Program Partners: County
of Santa Cruz, City of Santa Cruz, City of Scotts
Valley
Project Timeline: Phase
I – design Kiosk and collect information
for the web tool by November, 2003. Phase II – construct
Kiosk and Developing Web Tool and Kiosk Information
Packet by January 2004, Phase III – deliver/set
up Kiosk and Incorporate Web Tool into County
and/or Ecology Action website by February 2004.
Staff Members Working on Project: Karsten Mueller and Barry Hooper
Desired Behavior Changes: Increased
use of waste-minimizing “green” and
salvaged building materials.
Desired Outcomes of Program: Reduce
construction and demolition waste while increasing
the use of salvaged, high recycled-content, and
recyclable building materials in Santa Cruz County.
Create a competitive market for “green” building
materials.
Results: Preparatory
actions to date include the development of a
standardized format to be applied to each material
class, along with samples relating to paint,
carpeting, and salvaged/deconstructed materials;
the Design of a database of materials available
in Santa Cruz County and the retailers that offer
them; and Research on the cost of green materials
kiosks, and price estimates for printing and
external labor requirements.
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Annual Coastal Cleanup
Overview and Scope of Work: The
Annual Coastal Cleanup is an international event
that engages people to remove trash and debris
from the world’s beaches and waterways,
to identify the sources of debris, and to change
the behaviors that cause pollution of waterways. In
California, the Annual Coastal Cleanup (ACC)
is sponsored by the California Coastal Commission.
The Coastal Commission supplies local agencies
such as Ecology Action material resources such
as labeled bags for trash and recycling, data
cards, & colorful posters with collectable
artwork, and other promotional materials. Ecology
Action is responsible for soliciting contributions
from local businesses to support the staff time
necessary to organize the beach captains and
volunteers whose participation make the event
a success.
Target audience(s): Residents
of Santa Cruz County and Santa Clara County (who
utilize SC Co. Beaches). Volunteers
typically include school groups, religious service
groups, boy & girl scouts, business team-building
groups, and individuals.
Funders: Traditionally,
funding for the ACC has come from a combination
of local fundraising efforts performed by EA
staff and the EA administrative budget. In
2003, a professional fundraising consultant was
hired with limited success. EA also accepts in-kind
donations from local businesses to reward beach
captains and volunteers for their participation. In
2003, 30 local business donated prizes to the
children’s coloring contest and volunteer
raffle program.
Funding Level: Cost
to Ecology Action - $13-16k annually. Raised
$9,260 from the community, FY 03/04.
Program partners: Other
2003 program partners include Save Our Shores,
and the City of Watsonville, the San Lorenzo
Valley Women’s Club, and Friends of Soquel
Creek. Although not involved in fundraising
or media promotion, these organizations play
an important role in organizing volunteers for
cleanup sites in their jurisdiction.
Project Timeline: Current
project: Minimum funding level for the
ACC staff time is $10,000. Implementation
begins in June and ends in October. The
day of the event is always the 3rd Saturday
in September.
Past similar projects: EA has organized the ACC
for Santa Cruz County since 1984.
Future potential: EA is working with program
partners to permanently expand the impact of the
ACC into inland waterways.
Staff members working on project: Sherry Lee Bryan serves as the ACC coordinator. Additional
EA Staff members serve as beach captain alternates
on the day of the event.
Desired behavior changes: Participation in the ACC serves to create awareness
about how an individual’s irresponsible
actions (ie; improper disposal of trash and debris)
can adversely impact aquatic life.
Desired outcomes of program: The
act of “cleaning up” with other community
members from diverse backgrounds creates a sense
of shared responsibility for the environmental
health and aesthetic quality of a common treasured
natural resource. In 2003, the EA ACC Coordinator
set a goal to organize 2000 volunteers in order
to receive increase in funding from the Coastal
Commission for 2004. The 1st Annual
Children’s Coloring Contest was created
as a promotional item to recognize sponsors and
to attract more children and their families to
the event. Because it has been traditionally
under-represented in the ACC, the coordinator’s
goal was to recruit agency support for wetland
(slough) and Pajaro river sites in south SC County.
Results: A
total of 40 sites were cleaned in 2003. 7
new inland sites and 2 new beaches were added
to the 2002 cleanup. 2,918 volunteers participated
in 2003, collecting 12, 974 lbs of debris (9,027
lbs trash and 3,947 lbs of recycling) on 48 miles
of Santa Cruz County beaches and waterways. Over
500 children’s coloring contest were submitted
on the day of the event. 50% of the volunteers
who participated were school children, their
teachers, and families. School children
collected 1, 878 lbs of trash and 525 lbs of
recycling. The 3 new inland sites (Pajaro
River Levee, Struve Slough, Salsipuedes Creek)
and Palm Beach in Watsonville accounted for 43%
of the total volunteer force (1172 individuals),
53% (4730 lbs) of the trash collected and 27%
(1272%) of recycling collected.
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Motor Oil Quart Bottle Recycling Program
Overview and Scope of Work: The
purpose of our grant is to determine the effectiveness
and economic feasibility of collecting and processing
motor oil bottles separately from other recyclables
so that both the plastic and motor oil can be recycled.
In order to do this, we are running a motor oil
bottle recycling pilot program in Santa Cruz and
Eastern Monterey Counties in three target areas: residential
curbside recycling, vehicle service facilities,
and permanent collection facilities.
Residential curbside recycling: We
are conducting this piece of the pilot on select
residential recycling routes in areas where do-it-yourselfers
likely live. We have used a variety of outreach
methods to let residents know that they can recycle
the empty bottles in their recycling carts. Waste
Management conducted baseline research on each
of the targeted pilot routes to find out the
number of motor oil bottles recycled on those
routes prior to sending out the outreach materials.
Waste Management will continue to track the number
of bottles found on each recycling route for
three months after the distribution of outreach
materials. Once the three-month period is over,
we will evaluate the data to determine which
outreach methods we will pilot again for an additional
three months. After the second three-month phase
is complete, we will evaluate the data to enable
us to determine the effectiveness and economic
feasibility of using each type of outreach method
as well as to develop a plan outlining what it
would require to implement the program throughout
the region. The plan will be presented to the
appropriate community stakeholders.
Vehicle service facilities: We have
identified 15 vehicle service facilities and
other private businesses that generate large
quantities of motor oil bottles. We have set
up special motor oil bottle recycling collection
at these businesses. The idea is, now that the
bottles are not going into the trash, the businesses
will be able to offset the cost of this service
with reduced garbage hauling costs. We are monitoring
the businesses' trash levels to see if this indeed
will be the case. We are also pursuing other
large generators to participate in the program.
Permanent collection facilities: We
have set up motor oil bottle recycling public
drop-off sites at the County of Santa Cruz Buena
Vista Landfill/Recycling Center, the City of
Santa Cruz Dimeo Lane Landfill/Resource Recovery
Center and the Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority
Household Hazardous Waste Facility. We are pursuing
other sites as well.
Target Audience(s): For
this pilot, we are targeting three groups- residents,
vehicle service facilities and permanent collection
facilities such as certified centers and HHW
facilities.
Funder: California
Integrated Waste Management Board
Funding Level: Overall
grant $264,000. Motor
oil bottle portion is $163,000, about half designated
for equipment and materials.
Program Partners: County
of Santa Cruz, Salinas Valley Solid Waste Authority,
County of Monterey, City of Santa Cruz, Waste Management,
and Green Flame Services.
Timeline: Current
grant runs May 2003 - April 2005
Staff Members Working on Project: project supervision
is by Kirsten Liske.
Desired Behavior Changes: We
want residents and businesses throughout the
region to recycle their motor oil quart bottles.
Desired Outcomes of Program: The
ultimate goal of this program is to implement
a region-wide motor oil quart bottle recycling
program to serve all businesses and residents
in Santa Cruz and Eastern Monterey Counties.
Once the program is established, we are looking
for a decrease in the amount of plastic containers
and motor oil at the landfill, and a decrease
in the amount of oil in the wastewater of plastic
recyclers.
Results: Results
so far are that the County of Santa Cruz, the
SVSWA, Waste Management, and Green Flame are
all on board and ready to go. We are close to
finalizing the residential routes that will be
participating in the first round of pilots. We
have determined which type of outreach methods
will be used for each pilot. We have begun working
with the graphic artist to create the outreach
materials.
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Santa Cruz County Motor Oil Recycling Block
Grant
Overview and Scope of Work: Currently
in the eighth year of the Motor Oil Recycling
Block Grant Program designated to improve water
quality by increasing awareness of Motor Oil
pollution, dispersing recycling information and
increasing the means to recycle used motor oil.
Target Audience(s): Do
it yourself Oil Changers, Spanish Speakers.
Funder: County
of Santa Cruz through the California Integrated
Waste Management Board
Funding Level: $23,000,
previous to $30,000 (included Watsonville)
Program Partners: City
of Capitola, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz and County
of Santa Cruz
Timeline:
Each fiscal year since FY 1996/97
Staff Members Working on Project: Cristian Martinez, Sherry Lee Bryan, Kirsten Liske
Desired Behavior Changes: To
increase the number of “do-it-yourselfers” (residents
who change their own motor oil) recycling their
used oil. Increased use of re-refined oil products.
Desired Outcomes of Program: Increased
awareness of drop-off locations, and educating
the public about re-refined motor oil. Increased
quantities of motor oil recycled and no oil dumped
in the landfill.
Results: On
average, 98,000 gallons of oil and 21,000 oil
filters are diverted each year as recorded by
the County, with an average annual increase of
14% per year as awareness of the oil collection
centers becomes higher.
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Monterey Bay Area Green
Business Program
Overview and Scope of Work: The
project is a joint effort of task force members
and Ecology Action to implement an incentive
based program that recognizes businesses that
go “beyond compliance”. What
this means is that businesses meet all environmental
compliance for their industry, and then achieve
a certain level of additional environmental performance
in the areas of resource conservation, waste
reduction, energy efficiency, water conservation,
and pollution prevention. Businesses that
attain these goals will be certified as a Green
Business and promoted to the public as such. We
have modeled the program after the Bay Area’s
successful program, which will make implementation
here more efficient, and keep the message consistent
between us and our neighboring counties.
Target Audience(s): Businesses
and consumers. Currently, due to the grant’s
focus on oil recycling and pollution mitigation,
we are focusing on Vehicle Service and Repair
Industries. Next step industries likely
include restaurants, hospitality and landscapers.
Funder: California
Integrated Waste Management Board, Non Profit
Used Oil Grant (with quarts container recycling
program)
Funding Level: $80,000
staff plus $15,000 materials for green business
portion. Overall grant $264,000
Program Partners: Santa
Cruz and Monterey Counties, Cities of Santa Cruz,
Scotts Valley, Watsonville, Monterey, Air Board,
agencies include solid waste, wastewater, storm
water, water supply, environmental health, air
quality
Timeline: Current
grant runs 2003-2005, Project will continue past
grant timeline with agency support, Ecology Action
may or may not be staffing the project then but
can continue to sit on the Task Force.
Staff Members Working on Project: Kirsten Liske and Molly Ober are staffing the project;
Jo Flemming (Board Member) is the County Coordinator
for Santa Cruz.
Desired Behavior Changes: We
want businesses to achieve compliance with environmental
regulations, implement beyond compliance measures,
and continue to improve their environmental performance
as they continue with the program. We want
consumers to frequent Certified Green Businesses
knowing that the certification actually means
something.
Desired Outcomes of Program: With
Vehicle Service and Repair facilities the high
impact benefits we are looking for reductions
in oily water, detergents and other pollutants
to the storm drain and sewers. We are looking
for reduced air pollution as they switch away
from petroleum solvents for parts washing. We
are looking for businesses to shift their thinking
to include environmental performance as a part
of doing business well (will we see cost savings
associated with this?). We are looking
to improving how public agencies work together
and within their Departments, simplifying their
interactions with the business community. We
are looking to direct more public agency energy
toward encouraging what is going well in the
community versus focusing all their resources
on problem businesses – ditto that for
those agencies to encourage “beyond compliance.”
Results: Results
so far are that the agencies are working together
well, and bridges are continuing to be built. Dialogues
have occurred addressing where agencies are odds
with one another where the businesses get caught
in the middle. We have built relationships
with Automotive Services Council Chapters in
the region to bring credibility to our efforts.
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Integrated Pest Management Technical Assistance
to Professional
Landscapers, Gardeners, and Schools - the PRISM Grant
Funder: State Water Resources Control Board
Funding Source: Pesticide Research and Identification
of
Source and Mitigation (PRISM) Grant - Prop 13,
Costa-Macado Water Act of 2000
Funding Level: $665,260
Program partners: City and County of Santa Barbara
with the Green Gardener Program, Phil Boise with
Urban Ag Ecology, and Marin and Madera Counties
with the Model School IPM Program
Timeline: Work started in October 2004 and will
continue through March 2007.
Staff members working on project: Kyrrha
Sevco is the Project Coordinator with the State
and manages the Schools IPM Program. Kurt Hurley
is the Program Manager for the Green Gardener Program.
Sherry Bryan and Molly Ober will also be lending
their expertise and skills to ensure success of
these programs.
Green Gardener Program
There are several levels of work to be accomplished
in this program, from actually duplicating the
Green Gardener Trainings in Santa Barbara here
in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties, to formalizing
the curriculum into an "off-the-shelf" format that
can be used anywhere in the state. The
Green Gardener program certifies individuals as
having successfully completed the training, which
addresses alternatives to chemical use, solid waste
reduction and composting, sustainable design, etc. The
trainings will focus on pesticide use reduction
since that is the funding source priority. Provided
in English and Spanish, these trainings have proven
to enhance a landscape professional's marketability,
and also helps businesses who employee these folks
to attract and retain clients. The program will
also target public agency landscapers. We
will partner with another PRISM implementer in
Northern California who will be developing a certification
program for IPM Professionals to ensure our training
is inclusive of their criteria. A professional
market study will be conducted to determine the
market, price points and values of green landscaping
services in our area.
Target audience(s): Professional Landscapers,
Public Agency Landscapers, Consumers and Public
Agency Pollution Prevention Staff
Desired behavior changes: Locally we want
to see landscapers incorporating water and resource
conservation, healthy garden practices and reduced
pesticide use practices into their operations. We
want to see consumers aware of and purchasing these
Green Gardener services to drive the industry in
that direction.
Desired outcomes of program: We are looking for
reduced pesticide runoff from non-point sources
(our yards, parks, and roadsides). Other
outcomes resulting from this should be water conservation
achieved and waste reduction achieved. We are looking
for public agencies statewide to take the resources
we develop (formalized curriculum and a "how to
implement" binder) and implement a consistent program
statewide. We will also seek a program partner
to continue delivering the training post grant
period.
Results: No results yet! Check out the
Santa Barbara program webpage for more information
http://www.greengardener.org/
Schools IPM Program
In this program we will expand what worked well
in the Marin and Madera Model School IPM Programs
and assist schools in adopting IPM as their strategy
for managing pests. Activities include provision
of trainings (Green Gardener Program) for maintenance
directors, IPM Coordinators and their grounds and
custodial staff and facilitation of regional networking
meeting of management level district staff. We
will be providing the trainings and technical assistance
in Madera, Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. In
addition, we will do a base line survey before
and after this program to establish efficacy. Finally
we will be working in depth with six pilot schools
in Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties to address
one pest at their site with IPM. We will be developing
an IPM policy at each school site, which will include
a site assessment that addresses the physical constraints
and issues of each school site. In addition, we
will be working with school decision makers to
facilitate the prioritization of resource use and
assess risk by mapping each school site using the
PHAER Zone method developed by Phil Boise, developer
of the Green Gardener Program in Santa Barbara.
Target audience(s): School District Superintendents,
district landscape staff, maintenance managers
and other administrators
Desired behavior changes: Adopting IPM and
other reduced risk approaches to pest management
at schools.
Desired outcomes of program: Reduced risk to kids,
teachers and water quality from chemical use in
schools, thus reduced pesticide runoff from non-point
sources. Increased communication and participation
between these parties about environmental impact
of activities and coordination of efforts.
Results: None yet! See the Marin Model
School program webpage for more information http://www.co.marin.ca.us/depts/AG/Main/IPM/schoolipmprogram.cfm or
the Madera County final report.
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Santa
Cruz County Integrated Pest Management Grant
Overview and Scope of Work: Retail store
partnership, Community workshops and info booths,
Mainstream media campaign
Target Audience(s): Residential consumers
of pesticide products, employees and managers
of participating stores, the gardening community
Funder: County of Santa
Cruz, through the California Integrated Waste
Management Board.
Funding Level: Funded at
$160,471
Program Partners: Origins in
BASMAA, California Integrated Waste Management
Board, County of Santa Cruz HHW, OWOW store
partners, and e-waste community partners
Timeline: Current project:
Implementation began in winter 2003 and will
end in April 2005. Past similar projects: SVSWA
funded at $286,642; 16 store partners and 10
agencies in 2002, ended spring 2003
Staff Members Working on Project: Sherry
and Kirsten
Desired Behavior Changes: Store partnership:
Direct pesticide consumers away from buying
"Problem Pesticides" and their pyrethroid
replacements by labeling less-toxic products
on store shelves. Community workshops and
info booths:
1. Introduce the public
to the concept of Integrated Pest Management
(IPM) as a new paradigm for understanding the limitations
of chemical pest control.
2. Increase pubic awareness
as to the effects of pesticides on water
quality and human health. Increase use of County
HHW and e-waste disposal facilities
Desired Outcomes of Program: Santa Cruz
Urban Creeks are cleaner, people are healthier
Grant Objectives are met: (See results)
Results: A total of 18
IPM events throughout the County during the
2003 season. Planning Cabrillo Comprehensive
community workshop for June. We have successfully
recruited 14 locations to participate in
the IPM Partnership Program (13 stores and one
City Hall Office) a total of 65 employees during
the grant period were trained in less-toxic pest
management. Increase the awareness of the general
public as to the hazardous nature of certain
types of common household and garden products
and E-wastes.
Website: We have completed Phase II. Approximately 270
:60 Radio ads and 213 :30 TV ads have been aired
during this reporting period.. We have also completed
the initial phases of editing an additional "Lawns"
spot that will air during the spring of 2004.
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Rightlights
Program
Overview and Scope of Work: The
RightLights Program installs comprehensive lighting
retrofits and to small businesses and provides
information-only resources on other energy efficiency
measures. In 2002-2003 the program territory
included Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito
Counties. For our 2004-2005 contract, the
CPUC approved the addition of Santa Clara and
San Mateo counties. The initial customer contact
is typically made by an in-person visit by a
RightLights Lighting Specialist. While
on-site the Specialist performs a detailed analysis
of the current lighting system (Lighting Survey)
and installs a Quick-Saver Package of CFLs valued
at up to $250 per business (both at no cost to
the customer). Inefficiencies are identified
and a cost-effective upgrade is designed. The
data is entered into a special computer program
which computes the utility savings and instant
rebate, then “builds” the retrofit
project and generates all necessary work orders,
equipment lists, and contractor paperwork. The
Lighting Specialist then presents a plan and
pricing for a comprehensive lighting retrofit
for the approval of the business decision maker. The
computerized report details project costs, instant
rebate amount, annual utility savings, payback
period, energy savings, and CO2 abated.
A program contractor is assigned who visits the
site and verifies the project parameters, then
schedules and performs the retrofit. On an ongoing
basis, RightLights staff audits a percentage
of completed jobs to ensure quality and contractor
compliance with program standards. After
verification of satisfactory job completion RightLights
issues the rebate directly to the contractor.
Target Audience(s): RightLights
targets nonresidential electrical customers with
less than 500 kW of peak demand, such as small
retail, hotel/motel, light manufacturing, restaurants,
offices, and similar enterprises. Frequently
left behind by other efficiency programs and
hardest hit by rising energy prices, these firms
offer the greatest opportunity for job growth
and are a prime engine for local economic health.
Funder: RightLights
is funded by the ratepayers of California’s
Investor-Owned Utilities (in our case, PG&E)
under the auspices of the California Public Utilities
Commission (CPUC).
Funding Level: $1,904,738
for 2002-2003; $5,000,000 for 2004-2005.
Program Partners: In
RightLights 2002-2003, Ecology Action teamed
with the Center for Energy and Environment (CEE)
and Energy Solutions. For RightLights 2004-2005,
partners include CEE and Lighting Wizards.
Timeline: Our
2002-2003 contract was awarded in May 2002 and
signed by PG&E in August. All incentive
funds were to be committed by 12/31/03 and all
other work completed by 3/31/04. Our new contract
was awarded in November 2003; implementation
begins from date of contract signing (est. 2/23/04)
through March 2006, with all incentive funds
to be committed by 12/31/05 (e.g., no new business
sold after that date).
Staff Members Working on Project: Mahlon Aldridge, Program Director; Gene Thomas, Program Manager; Masako Brauneis, Program Coordinator; Steven Call, Lighting Specialist ; Angela Stuart,
Lighting Specialist ; Aaron Brown, Lighting Specialist.
Additional full-time staff will be hired to cover
the program’s expansion in 2004-2005, including
four more Lighting Specialists and one administrative
support person. The Lighting Specialist
positions have been filled (start date pending
signed PG&E contract) and the administrative
position is on hold until Q2-04.
Desired Behavior Changes: Most
small business owners feel that energy costs
are beyond their control. In the process
of upgrading their lighting, we show them that
they can effectively reduce and contain their
energy expenses by installing cost-effective
efficiency measures and through common-sense
conservation. As a result of their positive
experience and ongoing savings, they are more
likely to look for other ways to conserve energy
and improve efficiency and be receptive to similar
programmatic efforts.
Desired Outcomes of Program: The
primary purpose of the program is to deliver
persistent and sustainable energy savings at
the lowest possible cost to a customer group
that historically has not received a proportional
share of Public Goods Charge (PGC) energy efficiency
program funds. Secondarily, RightLights
seeks to serve the greatest possible number of
businesses that met hard-to-reach (HTR) criteria,
e.g., non-English speaking, business size, ownership,
etc.
Results: Through
December 2003, RightLights in the three Monterey
Bay Area counties has surpassed 185% of its original
kW goal and 180% of its kWh goal within budget
and on time. Energy savings (deemed) and
customer attainment are shown below:
|
| Goal |
Actual |
%
vs. Goal |
| Peak
Demand (kW) |
964 |
1,782 |
185% |
| Total Energy (kWh) |
5,024,231 |
9,027,350 |
180% |
| Customers Served |
595 |
611 |
103% |
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Santa Cruz County Electric
Bike Commuter Incentive Program
Overview and Scope of Work: The
purpose of the Electric Bike Program has been
to encourage the regular use of cost effective
electric transportation technology to reduce
single occupancy auto trips, traffic congestion,
neighborhood traffic volumes and speeds, parking
demand and air pollution. The program has combined
an attractive financial incentive, infrastructure
support and safety education to encourage regular
electric bike commuting among residents of
the County. In May 1999, the Santa Cruz County
Regional Transportation Commission gave its approval
for Ecology Action to design the program, secure
the funding and implement three phases of program
activities. This is an alternative transportation
program that residents have embraced and referred
to repeatedly as “cutting edge”.
The program has given participants the flexibility
of car travel without the cost and congestion,
and the range of a bus without being tied to
a timetable. It has worked well while complementing
the existing Metro system and has assisted
residents who still use their cars 50% or more
of the time.
Target Audience(s): All residents of Santa Cruz County, but especially
those who travel in a single occupied auto and
residents with physical challenges that prevent
them from riding a regular bike.
Funders: Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation
Commission and the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution
Control. Funding Level: $1,000,000.00
Program Partners: The funders plus all of the five jurisdictions in
the County (cities of Santa Cruz, Capitola, Watsonville,
Scotts Valley and the County of Santa Cruz). The
Santa Cruz Area Transportation Management Association,
a non-profit focusing on alternative transportation
programs, assists Ecology Action in implementation
with the Bike To Work staff. Four local
bike vendors participate, including the local
dealer for EV Global, a Lee Iacocca company.
Timeline: August 2000 through June of 2006
Staff Members Working
On the Project: Gine
Johnson and Piet Canin, Program Director for
Bike To Work, developed this project. Currently,
the TMA staff (Piet, Linda, Amba, Anthony) implement
most components of the program. Gine and
Evan provide political, grant writing and administrative
support.
Desired Behavior
Changes/Program Outcomes:
We want residents who
normally drive in their car alone to use a bike
on a regular basis.
Results:
• During Phases
1 and 2, 879 Santa Cruz County residents purchased
subsidized electric bikes and 1,211 residents received
free safety training under the program. In
addition, the program vendors sold over 1,100 electric
bikes and scooters not subsidized by the program.
• Based on the follow-up survey data, the
879 program participants have been riding on average
3+ days per week, averaging 24 to 28 miles per
week. (In the baseline survey, participants predicted
they would ride between 30 and 40 miles per week.
We are citing the follow-up survey data as a more
accurate estimate. Note that this data is the mean,
or arithmetic average, number of miles and days
ridden per week.)
• 62% percent
of program participants switched from driving exclusively
in a single-occupied auto to improving their health
and helping their community by riding an electric
bike. Over 80% indicated that they would
drive solo at least part of the time if they did
not have an electric bike.
• 96% of participating
Santa Cruz residents have deemed the safety training
and application process to be accessible and easy.
• 41.2% of program
participants served thus far have been agricultural
workers, seniors, retired, disabled or receive
government assistance.
• 39.5% of participants
heard about the program through family or friends,
and 22% learned of the program through one of the
vendors.
• 97% of participants
would recommend riding an electric bike to a friend,
84% of participants think the bikes are easy to
use, and 77% of participants are” very satisfied” with
vendor customer service.
· • The
Soquel Avenue/Soquel Drive corridor is the most
heavily traveled by electric bike riders.
· Downtown
Santa Cruz is the most frequent destination of
electric bike riders
· UCSC/Bay
Avenue and 41st Avenue are the 2nd and
3rd most frequent e-bike destinations.
· The
greatest potential for program expansion exists
in Scotts Valley and Watsonville.
· The
overall cost per “e-bike” mile from
PUBLIC FUNDS for Phase 1 and 2 ranges from 7.9
cents to 9.2 cents, with an anticipated REDUCED
cost per mile from public funds for Phase 3 to
be 5.3 cents to 6.2 cents.
· The
overall administrative cost of the program during
Phase 1 and 2 has been 9.4% of the total public
funds, with 17% going to direct program staff implementation
and 73.6% going to program material costs, including
bike subsidies. For Phase 3, we anticipate
these costs will be 2% of the total public funding
going toward administration, 12% for program staff
implementation time, and 86% for program material
expenses, including bike subsidies.
· For
Phases 1 and 2, in-kind non-public support for
this program has matched 15% of the public funds,
with this trend continuing for Phase 3.
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