The Protect Coyote Valley campaign has a welcome new partner: Mothers Out Front South Bay, a grassroots group of mothers and others mobilizing for a livable climate for all children. These passionate volunteers are leveraging the relationships they built during their successful campaign for Community Choice Energy in San Jose to advocate for the permanent protection of Coyote Valley from industrial development. So far, two of their members published an op-ed in the San Jose Mercury News, several members attended and one leader spoke at the Rally for the Valley on January 22nd, a new member got a Letter to the Editor published in the Mercury News, and a mother and two children gave moving public comments at the San Jose City Council Study Session on Coyote Valley. The team also hosted a Are YOU Climate Smart? workshop at the Cambrian Library, where Committee for Green Foothills’ Legislative Advocacy Director Alice Kaufman educated the public about the importance of protecting Coyote Valley.

In late January, Mothers Out Front South Bay conducted a mini call-in and email campaign to the Santa Clara County Supervisors, urging them to dedicate up to $20 million to protect farmland and open space, especially in Coyote Valley. The Supervisors unanimously voted to do so, and are now working on securing the funding. In February, the team sent an Action Alert about Coyote Valley that generated 34 emails to Mayor Liccardo and the Council Members, 28 of which were included in the letters to the public given to the Council ahead of their study session on Measure T.  The team is now busy collecting hundreds of postcards—in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese—that they’ll deliver in person to the San Jose City Councilmembers and Mayor Liccardo asking them to allocate the full measure of Measure T funds for land conservation in Coyote Valley, thus protecting the community from flooding and continuing to draw down carbon from the atmosphere. Go moms, go!