REMINDER: SFV Climate Reality Mtg.,Tuesday, April 8th, 7pm |
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SAN FERNANDO VALLEY CHAPTER MEETING |
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| Join our Chapter Meeting Tuesday, April 8th 7pm - 8:30pm Click Here To Register Everyone is welcome! Please spread the word. |
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8 Meals A Week: A Call To Action Are you constantly worried you aren't doing enough in the climate fight? Our April guest speaker Sheila Morovati believes that environmentalism is not an all-or-nothing effort; you don’t have to be perfect to make a difference. Sheila will share her "8 Meals" initiative, aiming to mitigate the effects of agricultural emissions by reducing our animal product intake by 40%, which works out to eating eight plant-based meals per week. It's attainable and might be the most important thing we as individuals can do to protect our planet. Come learn about the free #8meals app (available in the Apple store, coming soon for Android); it's a fantastic resource for exploring plant-based recipes and tracking your carbon savings. Register Here for our April meeting. |
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Guest Speaker: Sheila Michail Morovati Sheila Michail Morovati is the President and Founder of the non-profit organization HabitsofWaste.org (HoW). Habits of Waste focuses on creating collective change and impactful policies, with a focus on waste reduction for a healthier, more sustainable future. Sheila is focused on protecting the planet through a collective societal effort of individuals making slight changes to their lifestyles while pressuring lawmakers and large corporations simultaneously. She is also the author of the book Imperfect Environmentalist: How to Reduce Waste and Create Change for A Better Planet.
Register Here for our April meeting. |
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SFV CHAPTER NEWS & EVENTS |
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Rebuild LA S.A.F.E.: Secure, Affordable, Fast, and Electric! Los Angeles has just experienced an unprecedented fire disaster. We have collectively lost more than a 10,000 homes costing an estimated $200 billion in losses, not to mention human and animal lives and livelihoods. Rebuild LA S.A.F.E. is focused on seeking legislative support to ensure this devastation becomes a spring board for helping build Los Angeles back safer, quicker, and more fire-resistant to withstand future fire disasters. This is a call to "future-proof our communities from disasters like the one we just faced. We need our leaders to seize this moment to marshal state and federal resources to build a stronger LA. We believe that a fast, safe, and affordable rebuild is possible, so let’s not throw this opportunity away." Read more about how to engage our city leaders, and sign and share the petition here. |
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Earth Day Celebration sponsored by Tarzana Neighborhood Council Our SFVCR chapter will be tabling at this Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 5, 10am-2pm, so stop by our table to say hello. Bring your family, enjoy some food, learn about sustainable practices for your home, and enjoy activities including arts and crafts, plant giveaways, gardening tips, exhibits, live music, and mingling with our community. Free admission for all! Volunteers still needed: We need folks to sit at our table and share info about SFVCR with visitors, so if you'd like to meet some of your local climate advocates, please sign up for an hour here. Tarzana Recreation Center, 5655 Vanalden Avenue, Tarzana Saturday, April 5th, 10am-2pm |
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Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel's 4th Annual Day of Service Join Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel for the annual Valley Day of Service! There will be dozens of community groups and nonprofits to assist with service projects around the San Fernando Valley. After an opening welcome at Pierce College, there will be options to volunteer at Pierce or other locations around the Valley, so sign up to help with any project that interests you! |
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| Sign up opportunities to help at Pierce College include: Assemble homeless outreach kits, support domestic violence survivors, donate blood, learn how to save a life with CPR taught by an American Red Cross certified CPR instructor, send gifts to service members, write letters to homebound seniors, pack lunches for unhoused neighbors, or help adopt a pet. There are additional opportunities to volunteer at other locations around the San Fernando Valley. Register and choose a project to volunteer for here. Sunday, May 4, 2025
9:30 am at Pierce College |
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Biodiversity Spotlight "Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty." - Albert Einstein |
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Biodiversity Spotlight: Central California Coast Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) Range: The vast coastal, central, and northern California waterways from the Oregon border down to central California. Habitat: Coho salmon live in small coastal streams, rivers, and tributaries. Threats: Humans - we are reducing or destroying their natural habitats and their spawning areas. Impacts: Coho Salmon were overfished and their habitats destroyed, raising concern for the species' future. Thankfully, it was recognized that without intervention, the Coho Salmon would become extinct. In 1995, California Fish and Game listed Coho Salmon under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and the Federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). Coho Salmon spawn late summer through January. They swim upstream looking for shallow areas for females to deposit more than 100 eggs at a time in gravel "nests" where males can fertilize thousands of eggs. Water temperature affects incubation, so climate has a major impact on embryo growth and hatchlings. The tiny hatchlings are vulnerable at birth, so food sources, gravel, temperature, and exposure must be ideal for their survival. The entire Coho life cycle depends upon suitable environmental and water conditions. It is no wonder humans have adversely impacted their population. After about a year in fresh water, Coho Salmon begin heading downstream to the ocean. They will return to fresh water streams a year or two later to spawn, using all their strength to do and dying soon after. Their bodies decompose, adding nutrients to the soil and river ecosystem. |
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| Credit: California Depart. of Fish and Wildlife |
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The Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon, created and implemented by the California Fish and Game Commission in 2004, has increased the Coho Salmon population while maintaining its genetic integrity and meeting environmental criteria. There is great hope for a complete recovery of the California Coho Salmon population, despite the challenges of restoring the natural environment and related habitats of their spawning grounds. "Last winter, endangered Central California Coast Coho Salmon experienced a record-breaking spawning season, returning to Mendocino Coast rivers and streams in the highest numbers seen in 16 years! This is an exciting milestone for the endangered species, which is a genetically distinct segment of the coho salmon species. I've been at NOAA Fisheries for 25 years, and we've changed the trajectory for Central California Coast coho salmon," says NOAA San Joaquin River Branch Chief Jonathan Ambrose. "A lot of people think it's too late—it's too hard to bring back endangered species. This is a prime example of why it's not too late or too hard.” |
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If you would like to suggest a California Native species to focus on or write a biodiversity spotlight, please contact Zina Block or Sherrell Cuneo. |
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Pledge Drive Time! Our chapter has annual expenses: a Zoom account for our monthly meetings, a website hosting fee, and the service that sends these newsletters. If you're in a position to donate, please click here to make a small contribution to SFVCR so we can keep doing this important work. |
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