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Join
Green Team LA
Environmental Education for Childcare Providers and Families
City
Attorney Rocky Delgadillo recently launched Green Team LA,
a multi agency educational taskforce to help childcare facilities
identify and eliminate environmental hazards that put children,
families and communities at risk.
“Children
under five continue to face the greatest risk from environmental
toxins because their young immune systems are still developing,”
said Delgadillo. “Lead, pesticides, mercury and other
indoor air pollutants put children at increased risk for asthma,
learning and behavior problems and even cancer. Green Team
LA empowers parents and educators and gives them tools to
create a healthier environment for our children to learn and
play.”
Green
Team LA is a voluntary and non-regulatory program open to
all licensed childcare facilities in the City of Los Angeles.
Green Team LA will provide participating programs with workshops
on reducing and mitigating environmental concerns around day
care facilities and will demonstrate how to conduct environmental
self-assessment and how to best address environmental risks.
Materials
and workshops provided by Green Team LA will assist participating
childcare facilities to address a number of environmental
concerns including:
- Identifying
and eliminating lead hazards
- Eliminating
or reducing asthma triggers
- Properly
disposing hazardous household waste
- Instituting
the use of non-toxic pest control
- Incorporating
environmental education into the regular curriculum.
Green
Team LA will also institute recycling programs at participating
facilities and provide additional educational materials for
families to learn more about environmental safety at home.
Green
Team LA is a joint partnership of the Los Angeles City Attorney's
Office, the City of Los Angeles Environmental Affairs Department,
the American Lung Association of Los Angeles County, and Physicians
for Social responsibility.
Licensed
childcare providers can take the Green Team LA pledge by calling
1-800-LACARES.
Other
resources:
Los
Angeles City Attorney’s Office
http://www.lacity.org/atty
Los
Angeles Environmental Affairs Department
http://lacity.org/ead/
American
Lung Association of Los Angeles County
http://lalung.org/
Physicians
for Social Responsibility
http://psrla.org/
Environmental
Protection Agency Environmental Education
http://www.epa.gov/enviroed/whatyoucando.html
Los
Angeles County Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
http://www.lapublichealth.org/lead/
City
of Los Angeles Household Hazardous Waste Program
http://www.lacity.org/SAN/hhw.htm
State
of California Child Care Licensing
http://ccld.ca.gov/ChildCareL_1728.htm
Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention Environmental Health
http://www.cdc.gov/node.do/id/0900f3ec8000e044
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