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Home My WebLink AboutSeptember 25, 2014 - City Council Newsletter City of Eugene 125 East 8 Avenue, 2 Floor thnd Eugene, Oregon 97401 (541) 682-5010 (541) 682-5414 (FAX) www.eugene-or.gov EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER September 25, 2014 IN THIS EDITION HEALTHY COMMUNITIES SPEAKER DR. JIM SALLIS COMING TO EUGENE OCTOBER 9 TREE PLANTING PARTNERSHIP BRINGS TOGETHER CITY, LTD AND FRIENDS OF TREES CITY PARTNERS WITH NONPROFITS TO HOST GREEN APPLE DAY OF SERVICE “EVERY CHILD READY TO READ” TRAININGS AT EUGENE AND SPRINGFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARIES CITY DIVISION NAMED GOLD BIKE-FRIENDLY BUSINESS AROUND THE CITY Healthy Communities Speaker Dr. Jim Sallis Coming to Eugene October 9 James F. Sallis, Ph.D., a national expert on active living, will visit Eugene on Oct. 9, to discuss how community design, land use, and transportation policies affect the community’s ability to be more physically active – and, in turn, affect one’s ability to stay healthy throughout life. Sallis, a distinguished professor of Family and Preventive Medicine at the University of California-San Diego, and director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Active Living Research program, will lead a discussion, from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m., at Lane Community College’s Downtown Center, 101 West 10 Avenue. th Sallis uses research to inform policy and environmental changes that lead to health benefits, including lower rates of chronic disease in Oregon, by providing more opportunities for physical activity. Active travel modes, such as walking and bicycling, also improves air quality, reduces injuries and fatalities due to motor vehicle crashes, and cuts greenhouse gases. Sallis’ practical suggestions for making active travel safer and more convenient have been used in health care settings, schools, universities and private companies. Sallis’ presentation will be followed by comments from local experts Claire Syrett, Lane Coalition for Healthy Active Youth and Eugene City Councilor; Dr. Rick Kincade, PeaceHealth; Robyn Sattler, Springfield Elementary School parent; and Shane MacRhodes, Eugene Springfield Safe Routes to School. They will lead an interactive exchange on specific steps that communities can take to improve conditions for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other active travelers to improve health outcomes. For more information, please contact Terri Harding at 541-682-5635 or terri.l.harding@ci.eugene.or.us. Tree Planting Partnership Brings Together City, LTD and Friends of Trees Join Friends of Trees and Lane Transit District (LTD) in removing concrete and preparing the soil for planting more trees along the West Eugene EmX route. The “Go Gray to Green” event is Saturday, Oct. 4, from 9 a.m. to noon, at the corner of West 7 Avenue and Almaden Street, adjacent to AutoHaus. th EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 1 September 25, 2014 The West Eugene EmX project will remove trees where needed for road-widening, then LTD will plant many more trees than are removed, and give the new trees better conditions and more room to grow. In addition, the partnership with Friends of Trees will plant 50 more trees on side streets near the EmX route. In December, the community will come together and plant the 50 trees in the Jefferson Westside, Downtown, and Whiteaker neighborhoods. To volunteer for the October or December events, visit the Sign Up Form or call Friends of Trees at 541-632-3683. Free bus passes to the event will be provided to volunteers. For more information, contact Lisa VanWinkle, West Eugene EmX Communications, LTD, at 541-682-6212. City Partners with Nonprofits to Host Green Apple Day of Service This Saturday, Sept. 27, the City of Eugene’s Love Food Not Waste (LFNW) program will partner with the Eugene Branch of Cascadia Green Building Council and School Garden Project to host the Green Apple Day of Service, an international event that gives parents, teachers, students, companies, and local organizations the opportunity to transform all schools into healthy, safe, and productive learning environments through local service projects. The event will take place on Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, at Kelly Middle School, 850 Howard Avenue. The school’s garden serves as a valuable teaching tool, where students can learn about a wide variety of topics, ranging from the science of photosynthesis to the art of nature writing to the mathematics involved in preparing a healthy meal. The garden allows students to interact with the natural world and learn through their senses and hands-on experiences in an outdoor space. At this work party, participants will build raised beds and spread LFNW compost in the garden. As participants in the commercial compost program, Kelly Middle School students and staff will learn about the full-circle nature of the compost, which originated in part from the school’s cafeteria. For more information about waste prevention in schools or to attend this event, please contact Waste Prevention and Green Building Analyst Stephanie Scafa at 541-682-5652. “Every Child Ready to Read” Trainings at Eugene and Springfield Public Libraries This fall, Eugene Public Library and Springfield Public Library will host “Every Child Ready to Read” trainings for adults who work with parents and caregivers of young children. Admission is free. Childcare providers and preschool teachers can choose between two training dates: Saturday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., at the Springfield Public Library, or Saturday, Oct. 25, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., at the Downtown Eugene Public Library. This training will also be offered in Spanish on Saturday, Dec 6, 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Downtown Eugene Public Library. A version of the training geared toward staff at organizations working with young children and families will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Springfield Public Library. Early literacy, or "reading readiness," is a benefit to individual children, families, communities, and society as a whole. The Every Child Ready to Read program uses simple, research-based practices that help parents and other caregivers develop early literacy skills in children from birth to age five. All of the trainings will prepare participants to implement the Every Child Ready to Read program in a work setting. The Every Child Ready to Read trainings are made possible through contributions of curricula, funding, and organizational support from the Eugene Public Library, Springfield Public Library, Lane Early Learning Alliance, United Way of Lane County, Association of Library Service to Children, Public Library Association, and an Early Literacy grant from the Oregon Department of Education through the Early Learning Division and Early Learning Council. Certificates of attendance will be available at the trainings through Family Connections of Lane and Douglas counties. For more information, contact the Eugene Public Library at 541-682-8316 or www.eugene-or.gov/library. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 2 September 25, 2014 City Division Named Gold Bike-Friendly Business The City of Eugene Public Works Engineering Division has been recognized as a gold- designated Bicycle Friendly Business by the League of American Bicyclists. The designation, announced this week, recognized the innovative ways the Engineering Division encourages bike ridership. Examples include providing free, secure bike parking with access to tools and tire pumps; participating in the regional Business Commute Challenge; publishing bicycling-related events each month in the InMotion e-newsletter; giving employee access to a bike fleet that includes hybrid bicycles, a cargo bike and an electric-assist bicycle; sponsoring Breakfast at the Bike Bridges for people who commute by bike; giving away helmets, lighting and bicycle bells at community events, and participating in Bicycle Music Fest, Disaster Relief Trials, CycloFemme, and Safe Routes to School programs. “You should take great pride in the bike-friendly workplace you have created for your employees and visitors,” said Amelia Neptune, manager of the league’s Bicycle Friendly Business and Bicycle Friendly University programs. Neptune and her staff consulted with local cyclists and advocates in making the determination that the City division be awarded the gold designation. Nationally, more than 800 businesses and government agencies have earned Bicycle Friendly Business designations. In Eugene, those businesses include Cascadian Courier Collective (silver), Mountain Rose Herbs (bronze), and Organic Materials Review Institute (bronze). Previously, the City of Eugene has been designated as a gold-level Bicycle Friendly City and the University of Oregon achieved silver-level as a Bicycle Friendly University. “Visionary business leaders are recognizing the real-time and long-term impact that a culture of bicycling can create,” said Andy Clarke, president of the League of American Bicyclists. “We applaud this new round of businesses for investing in a more sustainable future for the country and a healthier future for their employees.” For more information, contact Associate Transportation Planner Reed Dunbar at 541-682-5727. EUGENE CITY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 September 25, 2014