Page 12 - North State Parent August 2020

this is tehama By Kate Hiller
THIS IS TEHAMA
The ancient word “Tehama” once meant a place where rivers could be crossed. With our county’s rich currents of history, happenings and hope, this is our crossing place today — where we meet to celebrate our beautiful Tehama County.
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Standing Tall for Clean Parks
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 recom- mendation 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 rec- reational areas can be diminished by what we encoun- ter when we are out in nature.
Some Tehama County youth recently began tak- ing notice of tobacco use in area parks, and they ex- pressed their concern about secondhand smoke and the harmful effects of tobacco litter. Not only does the sight of cigarette butts diminish the aesthetic plea- sures 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 STA- TUS - Standing Tall Against Teen Use Substances. These three young people have learned to appreciate open space, greenery and clean 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. STA- TUS was invited to a City Council meeting by Coun- cilmember 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 Corn- ing City Council members for implementing an ordi- nance 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 cleaning up our green spaces? 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 in- cluding the Tehama Co Tobacco Coalition and Tehama Co Drug-Free Community Coalition. They boast mem- bers 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 re- alized 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 fu- ture, 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. Ó
Kate Hiller gets outside as often as possible and is passionate about passing on the love of the outdoors to area youth.
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