“AstroTurf on Kingman Island?!”

Update from Living Classrooms Foundation:

“To clarify~ the items on site belong to our partner REI and are there temporarily as props to support the REI stage at the bluegrass festival on 4/30. The astroturf and potted trees will be removed from the island after the festival. REI brings hundreds of volunteers to help clean up the island each April (including 300 volunteers this weekend!). Funds raised from the bluegrass festival (a zero-waste event) go directly to support hands-on education programming for inner-city youth. To learn more about Living Classrooms’ education and job-training programs, visit www.livingclassrooms.org. Thanks for your concern, but you don’t have anything to worry about – we all have Kingman’s best interest at heart! Hope to see you on April 30th on Kingman Island!”

“Dear PoPville,

Although I’ve never seen any education programming, I thought that Kingman Island was supposed to be an environmental classroom – partly because the Kingman Island Bluegrass festival claims to be raising money for environmental education on the island.

Recently I’ve noticed that a large number of trees have been cut down and replaced with grass, non-native trees, and AstroTurf.

Yes. AstroTurf.

Isn’t Kingman Island owned by the city? Who is making these decisions? How does cutting down trees and putting down AstroTurf fit in with environmental education curriculum? And moreover are they using funds from the Kingman Bluegrass Festival to buy AstroTurf and cut down trees?

(On that note, one might question how environmentally friendly and responsible it is to pack 10,000 people onto tiny Kingman for a weekend festival… Think about the wildlife who have their otherwise quiet home invaded by 10,000 people.)

Some of the trees that look like they were purchased from Home Depot. They have tags that say they are great patio trees – with names like dwarf laurel. Half of the trees are dead – but still in pots.”