. good evening, everyone. thank you for being here tonight for our very first commission meeting of the year. it's usually the beginning of the year in our january meeting, to do more administrative items like reviewing and approving the

budget, reviewing and approving the annual report, and nominations. what a year it was. we had two more meetings than normal. one was to report on the strategic communities we had. one was a joint meeting on the commission of the status of william to talk about climate change and its impact on women and girls. our commission represented the department and the city at over 18 events at the global climate summit. it was at city hall. it was beautiful and well-attended as well. i'm so proud of the work this department does and everybody that's part of the commission, part of the department, we have extraordinary people. i know that someone is retiring

today so that breaks my heart. i'm looking forward to another amazing year and great progress. so welcome. with that, is there any public comment on the welcome? please come forward. >> this is public comment. >> but we also need to do the roll call as well. >> oh, sorry. i just jumped right in because i was so excited about everything that's going on today. but we have to do the roll call, make sure we're all legal. [ roll call >> this is a meeting on the

commission january 22, 2019. the time is 5:07 p.m. roll call quickly. [ roll call ] >> there is a quorum. a note to the public, there's an opportunity to comment on every item and general comment for items that are not on the agenda, we ask that folks fill out a speaker card. hand them to me. i will hand them to the chair. they will be called in the order received. you have the right to speak anonymously. after we call all the speaker cards, i will call folks up to be able to speak anonymously as well. with that, we'll move to item three, approval of minutes of the december 27th meeting. the explanatory document is a

draft. >> i have a motion? >> i move. >> moved by commissioner wald. a second? >> second. >> second by commissioner sullivan. is there any discussions? okay. we have a motion and seconded by commissioner sullivan. signal by saying aye. any opposed? motion carries. we're going to move back into public comments. public comment on the minutes. >> is there any? seeing none. are we going to take a vote again? we'll do it the next item. >> four, general public comment.

the public may address the commission on their jurisdiction and things that are not on the agenda. >> okay. susan carasof. welcome. >> i'm a resident in russian hill. i wanted to commend and thank the department of environment for your resolution and commend and thank chris campbell at the recreations around parks department for the work he's doing on russian hill. the intention to have that goal of increasing habitat and attracting birds, bees, pollinators, butterflies, and beneficial insects. that goal is wonderful and right in keeping with the biodiversity resolution. thank you from those of us in russian hill. thank you so much. >> thank you.

>> any other public comment? >> anthony? >> the next item is item 5, presentation of the commission on and the service award. this item is for discussion. >> commissioner? >> thank you president vallejo. it's my honor to present this award to our retiring sustainability -- an anchor in our city's conventions and other important events that come to san francisco. kathleen was a pioneer in

sustainability. she obtained state grants totaling a million dollars, as well as ensuring that a million pounds of surplus goods were donated to nonprofits. she served as a chair of the san francisco recycling committee for several years, and she played a key role in the lead project team where mos conian north and south achieved gold status after obtaining her credential. she was part of the recycling team in san francisco's solid waste management program for several years. she also devised a commercial recycling strategy for san francisco's large businesses and key industry sectors. oversaw government recycling programs, the emergency preparedness plan for disaster management and conducted building design workshops for architects, engineers, and contractors. we want to say thank you on

behalf of the commission of environment for your 30 years of service. we wish you the best of luck in your retirement. [ applause ] >> i would like to ask the commissioners if there's anything they would like to add regarding kathleen. director rafael? >> thank you. thank you, president vallejo. katherine, come up so we can see you and speak to you. i know there are other people here who want to express their gratitude for you and all that you have done. i want to say from my perspective, you have been running a mini city within a city. and that mosconian center is such a visible part of this city and how many millions of people you have touched, i don't know. to me, your impact is so far beyond the borders of our city. through your tenacity, i would call it, and your belief in the importance of the work that you do around sustainability, you showed what's possible. i can't imagine how they're ever going to replace you. i don't know that they can. they will try. and my gratitude is not only for what you have accomplished but what you've left behind. you have created a legacy of systems, a demonstration of what we owe the city and the planet to do, and you've done it consistently with a smile and warmth and belief in the importance of everyone doing their part. i just want to say thank you so much. i can't believe i'm really going

to not have kathleen hennessy at mosconian center. it's not real to me. i'm sure it's not real for your colleagues either. thank you. >> thanks so much, debbie. >> and i know there are other people who would like to talk as well. >> here comes a heckler. [ laughter ] >> i wrote four pages, and you guys covered it all. i'm very proud to have spent the last 20 years as kathleen's colleague. you've heard most of her accomplishments. i will fast forward from 1998 when she started at mosconian center. it was very much a one-woman show when she started. she had a small group, perhaps

three, of attendants who shared her passion and her loyalty, who created the culture and who created the environment that we are all enjoying at mosconian center today. since kathleen came to mosconian center, there's been more than 20 million attendees that have come through the building. they've all been touched in some way by kathleen's good work. that was one way. [ laughter ] >> that all started when recycling and reclaiming and diverting and donating were all strange words to many of our staff. kathleen's legacy in addition to seeing 5 million pounds a year diverted on a regular basis, and every year we've kept statistics, which she's done very well, we've exceeded

convention center's national recycling percentages in probably some of the most difficult and challenging situations you could see in a convention center, tho. those of you in the center have seen how small the dock areas are in comparison to the exhibit floors. it's an active building, one of the most active in the country. it's considered fully booked and has been for many years. 75% use is considered fully booked in the industry. i don't think we've been below 78% in 20 years. kathleen has, in addition to all of that, developed a group of over 40 sustainability staff throughout northern california with whom she speaks in her way every month in terms of developing initiatives and

solutions and thoughts. so she has touched not just mosconian and the center and county of san francisco and each of us and certainly the convention and trade show industry as we know it, but she has extended that reach throughout northern california and throughout the entire country. we're very proud. i am personally very proud to have had the opportunity to know you 21 years. all i can do from our perspective is wish you all the same excitement and challenge and passion in your next 21 years. so thank you so much. >> thank you so much for that. >> absolutely. absolutely. [ applause ] >> i do, before he heckles me, want to thank you all. i wanted to say a few minutes ago that i could say a few words. so i was thinking about some major influences on me. one is certainly where i grew

up. i was born in jersey city, which, at the time, was very industrial, heavy manufacturing, very polluted. so even as a little kid in early grammar school, i knew what pcbs were because i couldn't jump in the hudson because of them. i knew about lead paint. we had air pollution inversions, you know, that were so severe that you couldn't go out. another influence was my dad who raised me to say that it was important to know what you are passionate about and then to figure out how to get somebody to pay you to do it. i thank is city and county of san francisco and i thank the mosconian for the opportunity to work in this wonderful city. another huge influence was my brother who really believed in how precarious and short life is

and that if we had to work, we better make sure that we live someplace that the few hours we had off really meant something to us. and that drove me to drive across the country and move to san francisco as one of those many people who left their heart here. it gave me the opportunity to work with some really innovative, talented, wonderful people and departments in city government, but some of the greatest business leaders that i can imagine in terms of their support of the environment, the property managers in the downtown corridor of our office buildings, hotels, and certainly the convention industry itself. so it's been nothing but joyous. i look forward to lots of new adventures. i like to quote david osmond, many of you know, when he retired. he said something to the effect that he had worked his entire life in the environment.

he just wanted a little time to enjoy it. that's truly how i feel. i'm still in the bay area. i'm just looking forward to new adventures and enjoying it every day. so thank you for this recognition. i greatly appreciate it. >> thank you. [ applause >> good evening. i'm robert hailey, the manager with sf environment. back in 1993, two jobs were simultaneously announced at the san francisco recycling program. kathleen came from the northeast, and i came from the southwest. she became the commercial person. i became the residential person. it's been a great adventure ever since. we had crazy political times together. kathleen went to smg. i stayed with the san francisco

recycling program, which then with the solid waste management program merged into the fledgling department of environment. jack macy came over at the time. kathleen was at mosconian for 20 years and did a lot of amazing things there. a lot of environmental progress. i just want to say that mosconian's success being a leader in terms of facilities is mostly due to kathleen. we had the pleasure of helping kathleen in that effort, supported her where we could, had some great times. if you know kathleen, she really has amazing energy and an amazing sense of humor. she's a force of nature. that's what it takes in an environment like mosconian where big things are happening in a fast time frame. she'll be missed.

we know where to find you. look forward to more adventures with you in the bay area. thank you so much, kathleen. [ applause ] >> thank you. >> hi. i'm jack macy. it's been my privilege and joy to have known kathleen since i came to work for the city 20 and a half years ago. you helped orient me to san francisco and to the business community. i have just always been impressed by the joy and gusto you have with work. your smile and laugh, it's carried you a long way, no matter what the challenge is. you've really made quite a difference. i think about how far the city has come during your time and how you have really helped transform the culture and practices of the business

community, working with beaumont, helping to create the recycling committee, the commercial recycler of the year awards. a lot of that work you really help lay the foundation on. then you went to work for mosconian, taking on that huge challenge. and while you were taking on that challenge, you had a stint of heading up the beaumont committee and inspiring all those colleagues. your work at mosconian has been incredible. i just have a wonderful memory of coming to visit you on different occasions and will walk the halls of mosconian, and everyone she sees, it's hi, jose. hi. people love seeing her. you can see the relationships and the rapport -- >> it makes it work. >> it gets it done. you've created that glue in mosconian. you will be missed. one of the things that has not been said was mosconian one, the

state of california resource recovery award for outstanding practices in event resource recovery in 2016. and, you know, mosconian, for the type of complex it's had, it's had impressed recovery. to have you help lead and meet the command for more sustainability events, you've rippled out. we'll look forward to more fun times in another locale. thank you for being such a great colleague. >> thank you again, everyone. [ applause ] >> any other comments? if it's okay, at the end of the second presentation, then we'll take photos. is that okay, kathleen? >> absolutely. >> perfect. thank you. next item. >> item six. [ reading ]

commissioner? >> thank you, president. this evening i'm so pleased to present the award to -- as the daughter of educators myself and the parent of a public school student here in san francisco and the chair of the operations committee, i've had the great pleasure of hearing and following your progress over the years. before arriving at the department, tamar was the executive director of the rain forest act and tamar rebranded the school education program. as you will likely hear in her presentation in a few minutes, tamar developed a world-class program that's been effective

and won numerous awards and become a template for other cities around the world. tamar, you've been a mentor to countless employees of the department. you're innovative and positive and you've moved the needle on waste. you've trained a generation of environmental stewards, a benefit we'll see for years to come. to put that in perspective, for the last 16 years, 20,000 students across the city every single year have been touched by the work tamar is doing. last year, it was 50,000 students as the new zero waste program was rolled out. it's a fantastic impact that's going to affect our city for decades. your departure is a great loss to the department and to the city, but as with any teacher's retirement, it's so well-deserved. >> thank you. [ applause ] >> so tamar, i was looking at

some of the things you said before. i want to paraphrase something do you eve said in the past. teaching students, their actions have the power to transform nature by embracing environmental behaviors and practices that these students are transforming the culture of their schools to places where being a good steward of the earth is becoming a part of everything they do. i think that's everything that you've done. so thank you for your service. commissioners? >> i didn't know the reason why you were getting this award, tamar, was because you were retiring until i came here tonight. i was, to be perfectly honest, pretty shocked.

tamar has been at the department as long as i've been at the commission. we started at virtually the same time. the commission had a history. you were virtually the school and the program, and you built it from nothing to what it is today, as commissioner stevenson said, a model for the rest of the country and the world. the work you do is so incredibly important. we have failed, as a commission, to recognize it as often as we should have during the time i've been here. you have been an incredible asset to the department and the city over the years.

you've had a huge impact on the department and the city and our kids who are now -- many of whom are now young adults. it's hard to think of this school and program without you. it's hard to think of the department without you, but as a retired person myself, i'm very, very happy for you. thank you for everything you've done, and i hope you have a fabulous time. . >> director rafael? >> tamar, you know, both commissioners said it so beautifully. i want to just put my layer on top to say that when i first interviewed you for the job back -- way back, and the department

was six big -- i don't know. maybe we were 30 people big. it was pretty small. you were coming from rain forest action network. it was a radical group of people. you were out there scaling buildings and putting a stop to things and, yet, you were coming to work in government. i remember thinking, oh, is that a good fit? because not everyone can work within government.

>> i like to say you are not retiring. you are retiring from the department. and so, i am excited about the next phase of your life. you and drew have so much to offer the world and the two of you together are going to make ripples where you go. so thank you, thank you for the

16 years you gave to us and the city is not the same as it was when you started and i am not the same. so thank you. >> they say what you work in government and they say you have to color within the lines, but if you do a really great job, they give you a lot of colors to play with. so thank you. would you like to, my fellow commissioners have nothing to add would you like to say something before we have public comment? >> thank you, so much. i am so honored and touched by this outpouring of appreciation and recognition and you see the work we're doing on the team and you value it. i've been able to play my role these past 16 years has been one of the greatest opportunities of my life. the work we do in the schools matter and the work we do in our

state and city matters. when we get to the part of the ecosystem. -- and i always say we're all part of a ecosystem. we all can't do everything. if we work on the thing we do best, the ecosystem flourishes. here in san francisco, we have a very vibrant, healthy dynamic powerful ecosystem. i have been honored to play my role doing my part to help our city be the best it can be and help young people to understand how important it is to protect nature and our environment and to be active citizens in our world. i want to thank debbie for your leadership. i think that having gone into schools for the past part of my -- many, many years now. it's all about leadership. you walk into a school community and you can tell if it's -- what the leadership of the school is. you are like the principal of the department of environment. you've just done such a great

job, really allowing us to be who we are and allowing us to do our best. you've challenged us when we can do better in ways that make sense. you are not unreasonable in telling us to be better. you are encouraging and inspiring. that's the true mark of good leadership and really brilliant leadership is when you inspire us to be our better selves and you've done that with me. i really thank you for that. yes, i am retiring from the city of san francisco. i am not retiring from being a contributing member to society. my husband and i are started our own communications agency. i want to help other communities and municipalities implement environmental education programs. i actually have a woman from new york contact me and wants our help with a food waste initiative that they're doing in their community and working with the schools there. i'm actually excited to take what i've learned here in san francisco and spread it to other places around the country.

it's an honor. i just want to say thank you. the work we do is so important. the work will continue. i'm going to be paying close attention and cheering from the sidelines. i am looking forward to having more of my life to myself. i always like vacations because i get to have my life to myself. that's a nice thing. trying to find that balance to have more flexibility in my day-to-day life, i'm really grateful i get that opportunity to do that. i'm going to miss my time at the departmentment i'm going to miss my colleagues. i'm going to look forward to what is ahead. i'm take everything i've learned with me into my future. thank you so much for this honor today. >> thank you. [applause] >> i'd like to invite members of the public to come forward.

>> good evening. i've had the opportunity to work with tamar for over 15 years now educating thousands and thousands of children as they come to the transfer station. under your leadership and your direction, also tamar was on our advisory board for many years and helped us select the amazing artists we've worked with so i want to wish you the very best. i have such respect for you and your dedication to educating children about the importance of nature. also, you are optimistic outlook. i have all of these tamar words of wisdom rattling around in my head. your outlook on life is very refreshing and it's always fed my soul. so thank you and very best to you in your next adventure. [applause]

>> just really quickly -- i want to say tamar, my time spent with you, i remember when i first started. she said how do you like it so far? i said it's just the honeymoon phase. she said i'm guaranteeing you, two years of honeymoon. [laughter] and that's not that it wasn't hard work and that tamar didn't have a high standard but it was comfortable and relaxing coming to work with her and the team. she's the principal of the school team and she set a good tone. three quick lessons i learned from tamar and the first one is trust. she said that trust is a thing that, when you get it, it's hard to gain but when you have it, you have to be really careful with it. because when you break it or you

lose it, then it's really hard to get back. when you've got someone's trust, you want to work to keep it. tamar was always a very trusting supervisor. i remember having conversations with her that i've never had with other supervisors. it was a really comfortable feeling to keep your head in good work space. she said if i take it easy i can get it easy. related to parking. it's taken so much stress of my life. she has all types of wisdom. and just recently, i've been thinking a lot about guilt. tamar is a very carefree person in some extent. meaning that she cares a lot about what everybody thinks of her, her employees, her supervisors, the commission, the people in the world, the schools, the students, but she also brings in a swagger with her that's like, you know, i can only care so much before it's

time to be me. i thought that was also beneficial to me growing and just accepting me for good and bad and having less guilt on what the world is thinking. shout out, congratulations, you really deserve this and i cherished my time with you. [applause] >> hello, my name is mariam and i work with the school education team as a school education so he iassociate and i've worked with tamar the last couple of months, i would like to say thank you for teaching me to be strong while soft, comfort and apologetic -- unapologetic in the things i say and the way i say them. tamar was able to look at me and tell me in one sentence what she thought 245 that i embody as a person. it will always stay with me. thank you for your wisdom, your

patience and i am really sad to see you go. >> i'm also on the school education team and i only worked with tamar for a few months but she's been so supportive and positive. it was such a breath of fresh air for me. thank you for supporting me professionally and with my personal growth as well. >> hi, everyone, my name is anne'. i'm part of the school education team as a environmental education aid.

tamar, i want to show my appreciation to you. you are always so authentic and intentional with our personal growth. i first met phoenix as a fifth grader, which inspired me to the work i'm doing today. thank you for your impact not only on me but on the team and also every single student in san francisco. [applause] >> hello. my name is joe. i am the environmental education so he is saassociate on the tea. i've had the privilege and honor of working with tamar over the last two years. one of the biggest takeaways is to take incredible pride in the skills and impacts that i bring to the community as an environmental educator. i really want to thank tamar for her positive and powerful spirit

she brings and always up lifting us to be proud of who we are. [applause] >> good evening, everyone. my name is josie. i'm the environmental education corbyn eight ocoordinator. i want to say thank you to tamar for touching the hearts and change the minds of our youngest residents and not only that, but all of the employees, all of her staff on her team. i want to thank tamar for the legacy she's created. she's a great, strong female leader who is fierce and i really have appreciated that. i started the department in 2010. i have worked my way up in every position to where i am now. a lot of that came from the mentorship of tamar.

also, i want to thank tamar for being supervisor and a boss who really values equity and someone that you can really share what it's like to be the first with her. she has lots of advice on how to help you become who you can be, the best version of yourself. i've always valued that. i'd also like to thank tamar for just everyday, when you walk in, feel like i have the best job ever and the best boss ever. it will be very hard to not have her in the office and to look across and to say tamar, what she with do about this or tamar, this is happening. it's an adjustment. i'm very happy for tamar as well. i just want to say thank you to her for everything and from the community as well. [applause]

>> so much love here. good evening. my name is stephanie. i'm the outreach and education zero waste manager. i've had the pleasure of working with tamar for 14 years. my department partners very, very closely with division that tamar has been able to execute. i am just so grateful for you. your leadership -- i echo many of what the other people have said before. as a woman, strong, fierce, determined, unapologetic, and you just make it happen. and certainly, you know, i aspire to be as great as you are. i just want to say, one of the things i really appreciate about you is not only how you developed this wonderful program, that is being 'e emulad

all over the place, you celebrate successes all over the world and taken time to do that. you've been very thoughtful about who are we going to celebrate and celebrating those schools could have been successful. the other thing is really making sure that the children that these newest citizens in san francisco, understand the reason why it's important is because what they do matters. you make them feel -- i've seen it. the people you hire all are able to effectively translate that what they do matters. what they're doing is protecting nature. it's beautiful. thank you. >> thank you. >> you are going to be missed. [applause] >> hi, i'm rachel.

for almost 10 years, we were platonically work married. the school education program manager and i was the program coordinator and together we raised many, many programs staff. we went through moving, marriages, births, deaths, aging and all the mundane stuff together. we even found out that we had a celebrity brand moniker. it was remar. like brangelina. we joked truthfully that we were getting conspicuously uncoupled. that's really what it felt like. like many couple, we also had a first time we met story. it involved me waiting for my job interview reading a book. that's actually tamar's story. i've never told mine. so this is a good moment to share it with you. i first met tamar when i was interviewing for the school education program din eight or

position. i came from environmental education where fleece and non conformity proliferate. from the start, tamar mystified me. she did. she was what i expected. i wondered who is this polished and poised woman who had professional excellence. and how and why did she find herself in a job teaching kids about nature? and what makes her tick? what is her story. she really have a dog that looks like a sloth like you told me in the interview. that was easy to find out. she does. all these questions burn in my mind. of course, i couldn't ask them directly. i would have seemed really weird. in my final interview, i asked about her work background. do you remember that? [laughter] she graciously told me about her

time at rainforest action network and her degree in art and so fourth. a week later i was offered the job and i had the pleasure of getting to know tamar and answering those questions for myself. what i found overtime, she possesses the qualities i expected just in pointed and authentic disguise. what i mean is that in the right situation, she can be silly, have you seen her see a cute dog on the street? so you know what i mean. she only engages in conformity as a vehicle for meaningful success. she's been known to wear fleece on occasion but always with a neat ponytail. she owns her way through every project she takes on through seriously, conviction, and absolute professionalism with an unwavering eye for create beauty. under all those trapings, her heart beeps purpose.

the way i think of it, tamar, your heart drives you, your gut guides you and your brain advises you. it's easiest to see her brilliant mind i think. most of us know she has a golden touch turning ideas into perfect experiences whether a project is big, like honoring past mayor lee with a song or small like always acknowledging her staff with these beautiful new years cards. and of course she has the eloquent gift of gab. she can think and talk anything and people want to hear it. for those of us who have had the pleasure to spend significant time together, she readily shares intuitive sights. just a few minutes of conversation with yield knowledge. she's a deeply spiritual person with her feet planted on the ground. and we on this earth, as you all know are luckily for that. this is how i would explain her heart. your heart seeks beauty and grace. it speaks acknowledgment,

respect, self-determination. it's generous, hard-working and compassionate. all those years ago on my interview, while you explained your career gentleman tec tra ja magnificent heart. >> thank you. [applause] >> i know i said something earlier, i have to say oh my gosh, wow. this is one of the best experiences in my lifetime to be here today. i want to thank you for this honor and for all lost and appreciation that has been shown to me. i will take this with me forever. thank you so much. [applause] thank you, you will be missed. we're going to have a photo with kathleen as and tamar. >> two different photos. >> yes.

[applause] >> next item. >> clerk: the next item is 7 presentation on the progress receipt of the department of school education program. the sponsor is debra feld and the speaker is tamar hurwitz.

>> thank you. >> so we don't, in our environmental service awards, allow presentations. there's lots of public comment and accolades. we thought, since we have tamar here, it would be great for her to do a retrospective of the school ed program has it's on the cusp of being school ed 2.40 as we bring in her replacement. we're thrilled that tamar agreed to give us a presentation of stepping back and looking at her thoughts over the last 16 years as to what she learned, where she sees us going and what she most appreciates. with that, tamar. >> so, this is actually one of the most difficult presentations for me to put together in my entire career. 16 years, looking back is a big task.

i actually decided not to do a 16-year retrospective because we would be here tomorrow if i did. week by week, month by month. i decided to encapsulate the things i learned. >> clerk: can we have the monitor, please, sfgovtv. >> i wanted to learn -- >> thank you. testing, 1, 2. does that work? ok. good. the first lesson that i learned is that team work is essential. i know that earlier i was honored for the work that i've done at the department and i'm absolutely honored by that. that work should never have happened without team work. specifically, the team work of the school education coordinators that have been my co creators, partners, friends,

and it started with becky wyke in 2003 when i joined. she was here until 2007 until it was time for her to get married and go off to denver. and then, rachel pommerands joined the team and ramar was born. that was from 2007 to 2016. again an incredible person to work with. so much of what we did was done during those years. also, after rachel left, i've had the great delight to work with josee dominguez-chan who is the current coordinator. wrapping up my career here with her by my side is powerful for me and very meaningful. i just want to say these three women are smart, powerful, and none of the work that i got to do the past 16 years could have been done without them. i just want to acknowledge them

and their role during that will time. so thank you. i also want to acknowledge the physical education aids and associates. many here this year from this year and last year and acknowledge the work they do. they are in the schools doing the outreach at lunchtime. they are looking in the compost bins after school and doing waste assessments. they are the heart and soul of this program. even though we have a lot of turnover every year, that's actually part of what makes it great. we have constant new people coming in and getting skills, helping out, going into the world and taking what they've learned from the department into their future. so i want to acknowledge the school ed team that is here today and thank you for your work and your partnerships. really, i'm going to miss all of you. so much of what i will miss are the people that i work with everyday. partnership isn't just on the school ed team. it's in the department as a whole. i mentioned debbie's leadership earlier and how important it is to the work we do i also want to

mention our community partners like the unified school district. we work very closely with them to promote our programs like zero waste in the schools. we also work with the san francisco public utilities commission, they funded up to give water presentations and to create water curriculum and that partnership is very deep and satisfying. also, san francisco public works. we've partnered with them for our litter outreach and assemblies and the sf giant sweep. and it's not just city agencies that we partner with. we also partner with recology. that has been a really effective partnership as well. we all have the same goals. [ please stand by ]

>> i don't think those words and things motivate kids, either. so what we did was we changed it around. what about if we bring animals

into the conversation? what about if we bring nature into the conversation and make the case that we all need nature to survive, that everything we use comes from originally something found in nature, and so our world is linked to the natural world, and so our actions can help protect the natural world. it's a very powerful frame that captures the heart of children, and so our theme was let's protect nature. the third one was let's have fun, especially when we're in the schools and working with children. never under estimate the importance of having fun. to that end, we created phoebe the phoenix. a lot of recycling animates

objects, like, a bottle or a can. i don't care about a bottle or a can, but i care about a phoenix. a phoenix is in our seal, and she's been the heart and soul of our plan, specifically with plan outreach. she shows up at all our assemblies, she's on all our materials. and even community-based social marketing techniques. this is a student actually making a public commitment that she will continue to compost by signing this poster. and you can see that it's a fun activity. when we put these activities into the school, the kids clamor, let me sign, let me sign. but what they're doing is they're saying, i will continue to compost and this is my public commitment to do that.

another fun thing we've been doing is our field trip program gets kids out of the classroom, into the gardens, over the transfer stations, and those are fun trips that are also educational. fun is in my mind a key for successful educational and environmental programs. lesson four, be supportive. what the mayor wants, the mayor gets. and this especially became true in 2006. mayor newsom wanted an antilitter campaign in schools, and because t and that campaign ended up with us. to be honest, i was not excited about that. i did not know what to say about it. my background is rain forests

and really exotic subject matter. it's like, what do you say? don't litter. but what the mayor wants, the mayor gets. so i worked with my colleagues at public works and started to learn about what litter really is all about, and it's very interesting. we were able to create a very interesting assembly that we still have today, talking about the impact is has on wildlife in our area, and the impact is has on our pets. it became an interesting outreach, interesting assembly. mayor newsom stopped at our first assembly we gave at betsy carmichael elementary. he was sitting in the back and came up at the end. in his answers, he was repeating some of the things he'd learned in the assembly, but i w which i was glad to