PbP Planting a Greener Future Blog Series #5: CLEAN AIR DAY PLEDGE
This post is written by Winnie Fong, PbP LA Chapter President.
Winnie, PbP LA Chapter President with Amy Honjiyo, SLT’s Food Coordinator
California Clean Air Day is built on the idea that shared experiences unite people to action to improve our community health. Each year, the Coalition for Clean Air coordinates a day of action called the Clean Air Pledge so we can create new habits to clear the air for all members of California’s diverse communities. This year, PbP supported Sustainable Little Tokyo (SLT) by securing a grant to organize an event for California Clean Air Day to educate the community about the Okinawan tradition of Bokashi Composting to raise awareness about the various ways to contribute to cleaning our air.
How Does Bokashi Clean the Air?
Bokashi is an anaerobic process that relies on inoculated bran to ferment food waste into a safe soil builder and nutrient-rich tea for plants. Unlike the traditional composting process, which contributes significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG), Bokashi fermenting eliminates GHG related to green waste recycling. Carbon is not oxidized as occurs in composting and virtually all of the carbon returns to the soil where it is sequestered. This method uses a mix of microorganisms to decrease smell, increase the speed of decomposition, and support the growth and health of all plants and trees--hence, helping to clean our air.
Planting vegetable seeds in the garden at Nishi Center
Bokashi Workshop at the Nishi Center
PbP supported SLT in organizing a Bokashi Workshop at the Nishi Hongwanji Child Development Center for Clean Air Day where we engaged with children and staff in a bokashi demonstration activity outdoors. Amy Honjiyo, SLT’s Food Coordinator, educated the participants about the contributing factors to air pollution and how the process of bokashi composting helps clean the air. We provided the participants with supplies and ingredients to mix bokashi liquid and wheat bran by hand to prepare it for composting use. Afterwards, the participants planted vegetable seeds in the garden and we explained how bokashi helps ferment food waste into a safe soil builder and nutrient-rich tea for plants. Approximately 30 children and 6 staff participated in this event. Each child and staff received a California Clean Air Day sticker designed and made by SLT.
PbP Members Pledges to Clean the Air
Our PbP members also pledged for the California Clean Air Day collectively. 37 of our members made the pledge and chose from a menu of items in each of these three main categories (Switching Things Out, Planting Something, and Reducing Vehicle). Here is what our members ended up pledging. Our PbP members also convened together in a virtual dinner where we each had a vegetarian meal because reducing meat consumption helps to reduce carbon emissions that pollute the air.
