THEY'RE CUTE AS BUNNIES!

GROUND SQUIRREL BURROWS @ THE PETERSON FIELD

HOW MONARCHS HELP PUPILS LEARN COMPUTER LITERACY - For three years, Bryan Osborne has started his middle school's computer-literacy classes by asking his students to find the best place to plant milkweed to attract monarch butterflies - To Osborne -- a teacher at Peterson Middle School in Sunnyvale for 38 years, who switched from teaching biology to computer literacy 15 years ago -- it's the type of question that should be asked more, even in a computer class - read more ~ INCREASE BUTTERFLY HABITAT: PLANT LANTANA! ~ YOUTH ENVIRONMENTALISTS: A CALL TO ACTION - Sometimes it’s hard to realize that you are on the verge of something. Often it’s difficult to understand that you are balancing on the edge. And most of the time it’s hard to predict that one specific issue will define a period in your lifetime - But today, one thing is clear: climate change is quickly becoming - and will be - the defining issue of our generation - read more ~ WILDLIFE CENTER OF SILICON VALLEY (WCSV) provides high quality care and rehabilitation of injured, sick, and orphaned wildlife within the Silicon Valley Community. Through educational programs, WCSV fosters a positive coexistence between the general public and wildlife, and encourages an interest in, and concern for wildlife conservation issues. Through the dedication of approximately 120 volunteers, WCSV cares for over 5,000 birds and mammals from over 100 species each year - check out: http://wcsv.org/

> 29 jan 2007 / NASA SATELLITE IMAGE - below is a satellite image of the peterson, patrick henry and raynor park parcels - section A) is the most suitable place for agriculture, as is it the closest parcel of land to the peterson campus buildings, and is not fully inhabited by ground squirrels and/or voles yet, and section XX would be a good place for fruit trees etc (although it would be weird to see that old baseball diamond go; so many memories...maybe they should just leave the diamond where it is and plant all around it?); section B) is the most logical location for fenced-off ground squirrel/burrowing owl habitat, which would create a mini-greenbelt of sorts (like mission college in santa clara) since it adjacent to the nature area; section X (click here - note: burrowing owls use abandoned ground squirrel burrows for shelter - see section below called: 'PHOTOS OF GROUND SQUIRREL BURROWS @ THE PETERSON FIELD'); section C) is the present peterson middle school football field used mainly by the san jose saber cats football team and/or sunnyvale pop warner football (note: no wildlife presently inhabits this field parcel) the SCUSD suggested moving the football field over to section A facing E/W instead of N/S, but ONE COMMENT by ONE LADY at a public hearing changed all that because the sun rises in the east and sets in the west - so! don't ever think you're voice doesn't matter, because it does!); section D) is the patrick henry field now being maintained by local soccer leagues (no wildlife presently inhabits this field parcel); section E) is the best spot for sports fields; two soccer fields would be nice, but; section F) is raynor park, and between raynor and patrick henry we already have plenty of athletic fields, so i'm not sure if we need any more at this point in time; section G) would be a great place to construct a new set of tennis courts and perhaps even one or two bad ass basketball courts over by the peterson parking lot, that is if; section H) becomes the location for new housing, along with a parallel section of parking lot leading out to bryant street - adjacent to the parking lot (something a neighbor suggested); but! the structures would need basements if they were two stories high, to keep the height levels down (by the way; this plan was applauded at one of our public hearings, but the SCUSD chose to ignore the suggestion) - for now at least; it appears that no new housing is being planned - LRE NOTE: these are just my ideas and recommendations to the SCUSD...

GET GOOGLE EARTH & CLICK HERE X

WILDLIFE @ THE PETERSON FIELD ~ MARCH 2007

also! please tell san jose mercury news columnist mike cassidy (you can email him @ mcassidy@mercurynews.com - or call 408-920-5536) that you do not appreciate the peterson field being described as a "gopher-munched and pothole-filled field" (!?) when it is in fact a thriving habitat for countless endangered and/or threatened species of wildlife, including california ground squirrels (click on photo above), meadow voles and various species of bird including endangered burrowing owls (which have been seen at the peterson field by various people in the last 2-3 years - and over at raynor park as well) - there are mallard ducks in the peterson nature area pond - red tailed hawks (see photos below) - a bald eagle recently spotted (click here X) - and even tiny rabbits in the nature area! - i would estimate there are at very least 75+ species of animal living in and around the peterson field and/or the nature area...

this is one of two red tailed hawks i saw at the peterson field today; this particular bird had a 2-3 foot wing span - the peterson nature area is living proof that if you shore up a bit of land, wildlife can survive - in fact; everything that flies through the air and/or scampers across the ground can benefit from this habitat, and this is part of the reason our neighborhood is so lush with avian wildlife (the peterson high nature area was the first of it's kind in california back in the early 1970s) ~ go to: http://peterson.ca.campusgrid.net/home/Nature+Area%2c+Cams%2c+&+News)...

i recently spoke to an old man who walks 5 miles a day 5 days a week, and he said that back in the 1940s or 50s santa clara county's original master plan for the valley of heart's delight was to protect it for agricultural uses, but one single variance made by courtesy chevrolet allowed one parcel to be sold, eventually leading to almost all of the valleys' farms being slated and sold off for development (originally to serve lockheed-martin and IBM employees) - so much for the original master plan!? - this is all the more reason to protect coyote valley's ag zones and/or the last remaining SC valley parcels like the pumpkin patch in mountain view, for instance - the good side to all of this is we have another chance to respect the valley's original plan and shore up some agricultural land here at the peterson field, that is as long as some wildlife habitat is protected in the process (much like they have done over at mission college in santa clara - click here X) because job number one is to protect life; job number two is to grow vegetables and fruit; job number three is to portion off sports fields...

i also mentioned sometime ago that wildlife and agricultural exploits are often at odds with each other due to the fact that ground squirrels and other herbivores and/or omnivores eat crops (mainly root crops) and the usual response to this invasion is to consider the wildlife pests - but! these animals were here first and they need to be taken into consideration before anything else is done - thankfully i have no doubt in my mind that wildlife and agriculture can peacefully co-exist as they do in many other ag zones...

THE SANTA CLARA CALLEY AUDUBON SOCIETY was founded in 1926, and with over 3,000 members it is one of the largest national audubon society chapters in california - they welcome new members who want to learn about birds and the environment or want to participate in their many fun activities, and their mission is to preserve, enjoy, estore and foster public awareness of native birds and their ecosystems, and mainly in santa clara county - read more @ http://scvas.org/index.php ~ SCVAS and Burrowing Owl Preservation - SCVAS has worked to preserve the declining population of western burrowing owls in the santa clara valley since the 1980s, and their former executive director craig breon wrote about "THE DESTRUCTION OF BURROWING OWL HABITAT" (click here or go to: http://www.scvas.org/index.php?page=text&id=owlhab) - and "CLEARCUTTING THE VALLEY" in 1997 (click here or go to: http://www.scvas.org/index.php?page=text&id=clearcut) - vowing to never give up, SCVAS continues to collaborate with groups such as the CALIFORNIA BURROWING OWL CONSORTIUM and CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY to preserve habitat and lobby to designate the bird as an endangered and/or threatened species under the california endangered species act - the owl would gain special protection by being included on the state's endangered list - read more @ http://www.scvas.org/index.php?page=text&id=bowl ~ LRE NOTE: good news! the folks at full circle farm assured me these animals WILL BE PROTECTED! ~ SPRAWLING LAND DEVELOPMENT is gobbling up the American countryside at an alarming rate -- around 365 acres per hour according to government figures. In most communities the amount of developed land is growing faster than the population. This pattern of growth forces us to be overly dependent on automobiles, increasing the pollution and damage they cause. It also destroys farmland and open spaces and pollutes more and more watersheds. At the same time it contributes to a range of serious social problems, particularly for urban populations left behind. In response to these trends, citizens, public interest groups and all levels of government have begun to develop smart-growth solutions to revitalize our cities, promote more compact and transit-oriented development, and conserve open space - go to: http://www.nrdc.org/cities/smartGrowth/highlights.asp

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF LIFE - Many of the world’s leading scientific institutions announced the launch of the Encyclopedia of Life, an unprecedented global effort to document all 1.8 million named species of animals, plants, and other forms of life on Earth. For the first time in the history of the planet, scientists, students, and citizens will have multi-media access to all known living species, even those that have just been discovered - The Field Museum of Natural History, Harvard University, Marine Biological Laboratory, Smithsonian Institution, and Biodiversity Heritage Library joined together to initiate the project, bringing together species and software experts from across the world. The Missouri Botanical Garden has become a full partner, and discussions are taking place this week with leaders of the new Atlas of Living Australia. The Encyclopedia today also announced the initial membership of its Institutional Council, which spans the globe, and whose members will play key roles in realizing this immense project. An international advisory board of distinguished individuals will also help guide the Encyclopedia - The effort is spurred by a $10 million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and $2.5 million from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and will ultimately serve as a global beacon for biodiversity and conservation - check out: http://eol.org/

> 15 feb 2007 / DOGGY POOP STATION - i recently saw this doggy poop station at petsmart in sunnyvale - it would be good to install a few of these down at the peterson field [this is not an advertisement for best buy] ~ DOGSDESERVEBETTER.COM @ http://dogsdeservebetter.com/

> 4 apr 2007 / KAISER PERMANENTE'S RIGHT TURN  - the new kaiser permanente hospital (section Y above) will be opening in the summer of 2007, and as it is; drivers leaving the parking lot (see section X and photo below) cannot turn left to go west down homestead road - they instead must make a U-turn at the intersection of lawrence expressway and homestead road (section C) to travel west on homestead, and this was done purposefully to divert excess traffic away from the surrounding neighborhood (section Z) the plastic posts in the middle of homestead road (in the center of section X - see photo below) are typical city of cupertino traffic calming measures, and in this case they stop vehicles from making left turns onto homestead road (cupertino tends to be better than most cities when it comes to traffic calming) to remove these posts and allow increased left turns from section X would inevitably cause increased traffic congestion in section Z through the intersections seen at section A & B - a few years back hundreds -- if not thousands -- of people in the area surrounding section Y (which used to be a cherry orchard) signed a petition against the construction of the new hospital, but the city of santa clara allowed it to be built anyway, so don't you think kaiser has a bit of a responsibility to step up to the plate and protect the neighborhoods that really did not want them here to begin with? - the fact is; kaiser permanente has roughly 35,000 members which are going to be using this facility in the near future, AND WE DON'T NEED THEM TRAVELLING THROUGH OUR NEIGHBORHOODS! - you have until APRIL 13, 2007 to submit your comments on this issue to the SUNNYVALE CITY COUNCIL @ council@ci.sunnyvale.ca.gov - thanks!

the city of sunnyvale has blocked off both taaffe and francis street, located adjacent to el camino real near city hall - gee, can the city do the same in our neighborhood? - TAKE ACTION! 

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> 18 feb 2007 / OLD CALABASAZ CREEK - i noticed a chain link fence around the 1333 lawrence expressway parking lot where a natural pond used to be (see photo above) - the biologically diverse old calabasaz creek pond was illegally paved over, and i'm wondering if this is a sign the vital habitat will finally be restored (because after all; the city of santa clara can't use me as a scapegoat for their well-documented and brazen illegal environmental actions over 6 years ago)...i have heard from many people that the old calabasaz creek was re-routed from a north/south direction along lawrence expressway (see sections X&Y below) to a north/east direction in the 1950s due to flooding (see section Z below) - i also heard from a santa clara city employee who used to regularly fish at the old calabasaz creek way back when (see sections X&Y below - section Y is the marina playa apartment pond) and he said that many people who worked for the city of santa clara in fact knew the pond that used to reside at section X was in fact a NATURAL POND, as this was the remains of the old creek, not an artificial pond as stated in the city planner's recommendations (and it really doesn't matter what the city planner recommended; what do the county records say?) - oh, and what about that big old bird sitting up in the trees, swooping down and fishing at the pond? that was in fact a BLUE HERRING not a HERON! (i guess laws only apply to us little people, is that it? - blue herrings are extremely endangered) - the pond also contained a variety of fish species, including indigenous ones trapped when the creek was re-routed - to make matters worse;  1) thousands of botulism infected fish were illegally drained into the new calabasaz creek by the management of 1333 lawrence expressway; 2) the petition i passed around was illegally confiscated and/or stolen; 3) and after speaking at a santa clara city council meeting about 1333 lawrence expressway, my disciples were forced to turn on me when the security guards who helped in the effort to distribute the petition were told to have me arrested if i stepped foot on 1333 again, even though i was a paying kaiser member...

(at the time, that is - i have since canceled my kaiser health care plan and i now have no health insurance due to this chain of events - ah, the joys of activism! [click here] and speaking of activism, a fellow activist friend of mine has scoured the new homeland security requirements, and apparently water retention ponds are necessary for emergency situations when water pressure can be compromised [earthquakes etc] therefore both sections W&X are needed not only for wildlife habitat and human enjoyment, but also for emergency situations where water reservoirs are critical)

ultimately; both the 1333 (X) and the lake terrace pond (W) need to be restored, and since it wasn't done correctly to begin with; a bridge is needed between sections X&Y to allow wildlife to go under the granada avenue roadway (see photo above) to reduce road accidents between cars and ducks etc - and finally; what i have just explained above is the main reason why it is so important the lake terrace apartment pond be preserved (see section W below); because ducks often fly between the lake terrace and marina playa ponds during spring and fall, and this habitat is critically needed...

the bottom line is this: much like human populations; wildlife populations increase as well - and they need habitat for this population expansion...

PETERSON FIELD TREES MARKED - ORCHARD PHOTOS - LAKE TERRACE APARTMENTS ~ DUCK POND UPDATE 

MY PHOTOS

CANADIAN GEESE EATING AND FERTILIZING AT THE CORN PALACE FIELD IN SUNNYVALE A FEW YEARS BACK - STILL IN DENIAL ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING? - THIS IS THE SIMPLE EQUATION OF COMBINATION HUMAN/WILDLIFE HABITAT; PRESERVING AGRICULTURAL LAND (HUMAN HABITAT) = PRESERVING WILDLIFE HABITAT...

2 PAIRS OF CANADIAN GEESE @ THE MARINA PLAYA APARTMENTS ON VALENTINES DAY - FEBRUARY 14TH 2007

swarming finches @ calabasaz creek

little bird @ the peterson field

TAKE ACTION!

> “All political power is inherent in the people. Government is instituted for their protection, security, and benefit, and they have the right to alter or reform it when the public good may require.” - Constitution of the State of California ~ see: Article 1, Section 2 @ http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/level3_const1849txt.html <

> SOUND OFF ABOUT THE ISSUES ON THIS WEB PAGE! ~ SUNNYVALE CITY COUNCIL @ council@ci.sunnyvale.ca.gov ~ SANTA CLARA CITY COUNCIL @ MayorandCouncil@ci.santa-clara.ca.us ~ SANTA CLARA COUNTY SUPERVISORS - DONALD F. GAGE @ don.gage@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us / BLANCA ALVARADO @ blanca.alvarado@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us / PETE MCHUGH @ primo.mchugh@bos.co.scl.ca.us / JAMES T. BEAL @ jim.beall@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us / LIZ KNISS @ liz.kniss@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us - SCUSD SUPERINTENDENT ROD ADAMS @ radams@scusd.net ~ GOVERNOR ARNOLD @ governor@governor.ca.gov - THE EDITOR OF YOUR FAVORITE NEWSPAPER @  http://letters.aclu.org/pickMedia.jsp?letter_KEY=429 ~ ABAG @ http://www.abag.ca.gov/ - CHECK OUT BAY AREA CITIES @ http://www.abag.ca.gov/abag/local_gov/city/city.html - LRE ONLINE PETITIONS