Nature and
the Environment
Embracing our town’s lasting connection to nature
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Los Gatos possesses some truly special open space. As someone who works professionally in environmental conservation work, I am excited to bring my experience to the town council to help intelligently steward our land. A significant piece of Los Gatos’s charm can be attributed to our geography and proximity to the outdoors. The magnificent trees, rivers, and open spaces must be fought for and well preserved. We must continue advocating for local open space in all areas of our town. There have been some efforts from developers to push developments into the hillsides. I will never support such efforts. For leisure, recreation, and preservation, I will embrace our natural environment.
Improving emergency and disaster preparedness
2020 was a year filled with tragic disasters. From the wildfires that ravaged our state to the COVID-19 pandemic, our community was in a state of emergency. With COVID tapering off and a light fighter season in 2021, it seems many leaders have forgotten the importance of emergency preparedness. I see it as vital that town leaders work directly with our local police and fire departments, as well as with regional emergency response networks, to prepare for future incidents. Creating defensible space, preparing for evacuations, and building emergency plans for our families will help us all be better prepared.
As a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) volunteer, I am committed to personally engaging in disaster preparedness work. We must bolster our CERT program to plan for disasters and continue growing CERT membership. If you’re interested in joining CERT, you can do so here.
Collectively working to fight climate change
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Climate change is an asteroid. Every municipality must do its part to fight climate change, and I am eager to ensure Los Gatos is doing everything we can to save the planet. We can do a lot locally to help curb climate change, from protecting our nature to reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) to encouraging plant-based diets. New developments should go above and beyond the California Green Building Standards Code. As a younger person, I have a vested interest in preserving this planet for myself and future generations. I have run environmental ballot measure campaigns, I work professionally in conservation, and I actively work to reduce my carbon footprint. Climate change is a collective action issue, which makes it all that much more important to ensure Los Gatos is doing all we can.
Check out my backyard community garden here!
Creating and supporting parks and community gardens
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Creating and supporting parks and community gardens Unlike some towns, Los Gatos is a community blessed with plentiful urban green space. These parks, open spaces, and fields allow for children to have space to grow, adults to recreate, and for everyone in Los Gatos to spend time in nature. Preserving these parks is integral, especially as Los Gatos continues to develop. There are also numerous underutilized and vacant small pieces of land that might not work to build on but are perfectly suited for a pocket park or native plant habitat.
We can do more as a community when it comes to community gardens. Many municipalities in the Bay Area have thriving community gardening programs, where neighbors come together in community to grow food and flowers. Local groups in Los Gatos are working to build community gardens and native plant habitats. On the Town Council, I would work to support and expand these projects.