LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 20, 2017 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — In honor of Earth Day 2017, California Safe Schools celebrates all of the heroes who strive every day to protect our environment. This year, CSS is honoring the following 2017 Earth Day Heroes with awards and commendations for their exceptional efforts to protect human health and Mother Earth.<\/p>\n
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\nFounded by Robina Suwol in 1998, California Safe Schools (CSS) is a children\u2019s environmental health and environmental justice non-profit. CSS achieved national and international prominence by spearheading the Los Angeles Unified School District\u2019s (LAUSD) Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Policy, as has since been a leader in protecting children\u2019s environmental health.<\/p>\n
2017 Earth Day Heroes:<\/p>\n
Sandra Schubert, Esq. – Sacramento, California:<\/strong> Stephanie J. Harker & Cathy Blaivas \u2013 West Hollywood, California:<\/strong> Douglas Anderson \u2014 Area Facilities Service Director, Los Angeles Unified School District, California:<\/strong> \u201cIn honoring these outstanding, committed individuals, we are acknowledging the hard work and collaboration that has enabled us to protect not only current generations, but future generations to come,\u201d said Robina Suwol, founder and executive director of California Safe Schools.<\/p>\n On October 6, 2005, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 405 (Montanez) sponsored by CSS, which strengthens The Healthy Schools Act. The bill bans experimental pesticides, whose health effects are unknown, from California K-12 public schools. As a result, more than six million California children and hundreds of thousands of school children are protected from experimental chemicals whose health effects are unknown.<\/p>\n
\nCSS celebrates Sandra for more than two decades of public service, beginning with helping to craft the LAUSD IPM Policy, followed by her work as a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer of California, counsel to U.S. Senate Leader Harry Reid from Nevada, her role as the State of California Food & Agriculture Undersecretary, and all of her volunteer efforts working with California\u2019s groups which have led to greater protection for children\u2019s health and the environment.<\/p>\n
\nFor their passionate community campaigns and tireless efforts to protect historic Plummer Park in West Hollywood, California Safe Schools celebrates Stephanie J. Harker and Cathy Blaivas co-founders of Protect Plummer Park. Their hard work prevented the destruction of 56 heritage trees and the demolition of nationally designated Great Hall\/Long Hall, originally constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1937.<\/p>\n
\nCSS celebrates Douglas Anderson for his enormous efforts working with LAUSD\u2019s exceptional Maintenance & Operations staff, whose meticulous work ensures the successful implementation of LAUSD\u2019s groundbreaking IPM Policy in place for almost twenty years. LAUSD\u2019s IPM Policy is the most stringent pesticide policy in the nation for K-12 public schools and the first to embrace the \u201cPrecautionary Principle\u201d and \u201cRight to Know\u201d, and includes a 15-member oversight committee to ensure implementation. The success of the policy in the 2nd largest school district, which spans 740 square miles, 28 cities and more than 1000 sites, led to California\u2019s Healthy Schools Act of 2000. Today the LA Unified IPM policy serves as an international model for school districts\u2019 and communities\u2019 pesticide management programs.<\/p>\n