Portola Valley Update July 20, 2023

This week's update:

• Neighborhood Cleanup Day - Saturday, August 5, from 8 to 11 am
• Sustainability Tip - Food Waste
• Composting Workshops
• Save the Date for the Annual Town Picnic and Zotts to Tots Race - Sept 23
• Conservation Committee Tip of the Month- Yellow Star Thistle
• Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip - Vegetation Moisture Content Returns to Normal
• Town Hall Doors Closed on Fridays
• Don't Buy New... Fix It!
• Upcoming Events

Neighborhood Cleanup Day - Saturday, August 5, from 8 to 11 am

Please note: No items will be accepted after 11 am

Please review the sample postcard and load your vehicle accordingly! This event is free for Portola Valley residents - you will need to bring a copy of your GreenWaste garbage bill or the "original" postcard received in the mail as proof of residency. GreenWaste is asking that residents containerize or bundle their yard trimmings.*

• Medication is NOT accepted at this event
• Hazardous materials are NOT accepted. The sample postcard describes the kinds of things that are accepted, as well as those items that are not. Please note that hazardous materials will not be accepted at this Neighborhood Clean-Up Day event.

Please call the County of San Mateo Household Hazardous Waste Program at 650.363.4718 or visit the County's website to schedule a drop-off appointment. Also, you may wish to note that the Town will sponsor a Household Hazardous Waste Disposal event here in Portola Valley on October 14, 2023.

*Containerizing or Bundling = branches bundled together with rope or twine and loose leaves and clippings containerized in bags or carts. Bundled or containerized yard trimmings makes loading the material into trucks safer for GreenWaste’s staff and helps the Clean Up run smoothly and efficiently.

If you do come early and see a long line please come back later. The lines were a lot shorter after 10 am at the last event The Sheriff let us know they will not allow lines along Portola Road.

Sustainability Tip - Food Waste

An estimated one-third of all the food produced in the world goes to waste: fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy, seafood, and grains that either never leave the farm, get lost or spoiled during distribution, or are thrown away in hotels, grocery stores, restaurants, schools, or home kitchens.

When we waste food, we also waste all the energy and water it takes to grow, harvest, transport, and package it. And if food goes to the landfill and rots, it produces methane - a greenhouse gas even more potent than carbon dioxide.

In the US alone, wasted food generates the equivalent of 32.6 million cars’ worth of greenhouse gas emissions

Read the whole tip from Sustainability Committee here

Composting Workshops

Do you want to start composting at home? Join a no-cost two-hour workshop through the County's Office of Sustainability to learn the basics of starting your own backyard and worm composting systems.

Saturday, July 29, 2023, 10:00 a.m. to noon at the Civic Garden Club of San Carlos, 737 Walnut St.

Register here

Save the Date for the Annual Town Picnic and Zotts to Tots Race - Sept 23

This exciting family event will bring family and friends together for a day of outdoor fun. Lace-up your running shoes or hop on your bike for the exciting race, or simply enjoy a leisurely stroll along the picturesque route. Afterward, indulge in a delicious bite to eat and immerse yourself in the plethora of activities at the picnic. From games and entertainment to face painting and pony rides, there's something for everyone to enjoy. Mark your calendars for a day filled with family fun and memorable moments!

Conservation Committee Tip of the Month- Yellow Star Thistle ( Centaurea solstitialis )

• Member of the Aster Family and Knapweed Genus, arrived in CA in 1850s from the Mediterranean Basin
• Prefers compacted or damaged soil, spreading rapidly along roadsides via cars and equipment.
• It has a very deep and vigorous tap root, but if you get the crown it will not grow back.
• YST chokes out most other vegetation
• The seed bank for YST can last ten years
• Lethal disease to horses but is readily browsed by sheep and goats.

Control

1. Hand pull or mow before <2% of plants are blooming (the first day you see flowers). This significantly reduces the reseeding rate. The goal is to get rid of the plants before any set seed.
2. Goats effectively graze on YST, even in the spiny stage - allowing recovering native plants to receive more light
3. Replant area with fast growing natives such as native Salvias, Eriogonums (Buckwheats) and tarweed.
4. Yearly weeding, mowing or grazing can keep YST under control afterwards, but it does definitely need persistence for the first few years and ten years of no new plants before it can be considered gone.

UC Integrated Pest Management Pest Note on C. solstitialis can be found here: https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7402.html

Wildfire Preparedness Committee Tip -Vegetation Moisture Content Returns to Normal

The summer heat has finally made its grand entrance, and sadly that means the moisture brought by our heavy winter rains is back to average levels. This graph is from the National Fuel Moisture Database, and shows moisture content for vegetation at Blackberry Hill. This is a site above Los Gatos High School, that is monitored by the SJSU Fire Weather Research Lab.

The winter rains also increased plant growth, which means higher fuel loads. This is why WFPD stepped up its outreach and asked residents to cut their weed grasses more often and not just by the July 1st deadline. Maintain defensible space year-round, just like the fire season.

Discuss proposed WFPD Ordinances

Please join the WPC at its July and August meetings while it explores and reviews WFPD’s proposed ordinances for Fire Code, defensible space, and fuel breaks. The draft ordinances are in the WPC July-19 agenda packet. Please email comments to the Committee and subscribe to PV eNotices to make sure you don’t miss the discussion. The WPC meets the 3rd Wednesday of the month at 4:00 PM.

Town Hall Lobby Closed on Fridays

The Town Council approved physically closing Town Hall’s doors every Friday until September 15th, 2023. Staff will still be working but the lobby will be closed to visitors. The Planning & Building Department has virtual appointments for services that include meetings with a planner, building/planning permit submittals, and more. The PV Connect system is available for submitting service requests. You can still reach staff by email and phone.

Don't Buy New... Fix It!

Fixit Clinics are fun workshops where neighbors, friends and families work collectively to learn how to repair their broken items. The County’s Office of Sustainability will provide workspace, specialty tools, and volunteer Fixit Coaches to help troubleshoot and provide routine maintenance to your household items and appliances.

Wednesday, July 26, 2023 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Redwood City Public Library, 1044 Middlefield Road

Register here