Standing Tall for Clean Parks – This is Tehama

I have never been more aware of the importance of nature and wide-open spaces than right now. My prescription for mental health has been to get outside daily in the neighborhood, parks, or public land to walk the dogs and just breathe. With a recommendation to social distance, we have permission to show our children the benefits of recreational space. Aren’t we blessed to live in northern California, where parks abound? With that said, the benefits of those recreational areas can be diminished by what we encounter when we are out in nature; we place great value on clean parks.

Some Tehama County youth recently began taking notice of tobacco use in area parks, and they expressed their concern about secondhand smoke and the harmful effects of tobacco litter. Not only does the sight of cigarette butts diminish the aesthetic pleasures of green space, but discarded butts can leach toxic chemicals into the ground and water and can poison animals. Marvin Arias, Daniel Rawlins, and Joshua Alcazar are members of Youth Coalition STATUS – Standing Tall Against Teen Use Substances. These three young people have learned to appreciate open space, greenery, clean parks and air, and they want to protect it. They decided to team up with Si Se Puede of California Health Collaborative to conduct a clean-up of local parks focusing in the Corning area.

In the summer of 2019, the group inspected all eight parks in Corning and collected a total of 1,575 pieces of tobacco litter. Soon after the clean-up, they were made aware that not all parks in Corning were smoke and vape-free. The youth started researching and speaking with the community. They displayed all the collected tobacco litter in a jar at various events. They worked to educate the community on the dangers of tobacco litter and how smoke and vape free parks could better protect the community. STATUS was invited to a City Council meeting by Councilmember Jose “Chuy” Valeri to share their findings. The STATUS members, along with other supporting organizations, were extremely excited to share the results, especially their experience and gratitude for a smoke-free and vape-free policy.

Ordinance No. 681 went into effect on December 13, 2019, to regulate activities within Corning Public Parks. One of the regulations prohibits smoking and vaping of any substance. This is important as it better protects community members, children, and animals from exposure to secondhand smoke, secondhand aerosols and tobacco litter. Si Se Puede thanks Corning City Council members for implementing an ordinance that included all city parks.

Esther Craig, program coordinator for Si Se Puede commented, “It has been a pleasure working with STATUS youth through this process, from clean-up to a passed ordinance. These youth are learning how to make positive changes happen in their communities and are becoming our next leaders.”

How can Tehama county youth, ages 12-18, learn more about the dangers of vaping and tobacco use and get involved with creating and maintaining clean parks? They can come to a STATUS meeting on the first Thursday of each month, currently meeting over Zoom. This youth coalition is supported by several adult coalitions including the Tehama Co Tobacco Coalition and Tehama Co Drug-Free Community Coalition. They boast members from Corning High, Red Bluff High, Vista, and Reeds Creek schools; and in one year, STATUS has grown from 2 to 14 members! Call Karla Damian Vazquez at (530) 527-8491 x 3501 to learn more.

Petra, a recent high school graduate who rose above her disadvantaged childhood, is very grateful for what she learned as a STATUS member, “Vaping was something I personally was curious about but realized the harm and dangers that it comes with. The flashy colors and fruit flavoring may seem interesting but having an addiction to nicotine isn’t something that is worth it. You have the power to control your future, not drugs.”

Thank you, STATUS youth, for living up to your name by standing tall against substance abuse and for taking care of the beautiful, green spaces that abound in Tehama County.