A MILESTONE DAY IN SUSTAINABLE GOLF

Friday July 21st will go down in history as the beginning of the end of gas in the golf industry. Today’s certification of the first-in-the-nation AGZA Green Zone® Golf Course at Arroyo Seco Golf Course in South Pasadena, CA proves battery tools can replace gas machinery for almost all routine grounds maintenance.

Surely it will take a couple decades for all the antiquated, noisy and highly polluting gas machinery to be fully purged from golf course grounds management.

After a year in development, and building on the groundbreaking success of certifying the nation’s first AGZA Green Zone City in South Pasadena last fall, the long-standing strategic partners had a lot to celebrate in the ceremony on the first fairway of Arroyo Seco Golf Course.

ABOVE: CA State Senator Anthony Portantino (red shirt) and South Pasadena Mayor Michael Cacciotti hold the AGZA Green Zone Golf Course certification. They are flanked by AGZA president Dan Mabe (blue tie), City councilmembers, and representatives of CA State Assemblymember Chris Holden, LA County Board of Supervisor Kathryn Barger, Upper San Gabriel Valley Municipal Water District, American Lung Association, Coalition for Clean Air, Sierra Club, and Noise Free America.

COURSE

xxx

EQUIPMENT
AND CREW

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CEREMONY

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HONORS

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xxx

Sincerely,

Luke Massman-Johnson
Communications Director
American Green Zone Alliance
Luke@AGZA.net

PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT:             Coby King – (310) 489-3280 coby@hpstrat.com

CITY OF SOUTH PASADENA, ELECTED OFFICIALS, AND HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS CELEBRATE CITY AS FIRST IN NATION TO HAVE AN “AGZA GREEN ZONE® GOLF COURSE”

Friday, July 21, 2017, South Pasadena, California — The City of South Pasadena, joined by California State Senator Anthony Portantino, the American Lung Association and environmental organizations, today celebrated the City’s status as the first city in the nation to convert its municipal golf course to an “AGZA Green Zone® Golf Course.”  Certified by the American Green Zone Alliance, the City was previously the first in the nation to convert all of its park and median maintenance to emission and gas-free equipment.

“South Pasadena continues to be a leader in sustainability and reducing the harmful health and environmental impacts of its municipal operations,” said Michael Cacciotti, the mayor of the City of South Pasadena.  “We’re proud to have partnered with AGZA, the AQMD and Donovan Brothers Golf to provide cleaner healthier air and more peace and quiet to everyone who lives in, works in, or visits our city.”

Working with the city’s golf course maintenance contractor, Donovan Brothers Golf, LLC, the Arroyo Seco Golf Course is now maintained using electric equipment, which replaced equipment run on gasoline.  The City’s action has significantly reduced air pollution and noise, and is another demonstration of the City’s commitment to sustainability to the benefit of residents and visitors.

“The City of South Pasadena has been a leader on green strategies for many years, and today is another great example of that leadership,” said California State Senator Anthony Portantino, whose district includes the City.  “I applaud the City, Donovan Brothers and the American Green Zone Alliance and look forward to working with them to extend their work.”

The celebration took place at the City’s Arroyo Seco Golf Course, an attractive 18-hole par-3 course.  The course is nestled next to a quiet neighborhood, so slashing noise pollution is a benefit for nearby homeowners as well as patrons of the golf course, driving range, putting greens, mini-golf, and café.

“As one of the nation’s leading advocates for clean air, we are pleased to praise the City’s leadership,” said John Yi, Director of Advocacy, American Lung Association.  “Particulate pollution has long been identified as a leading cause of lung cancer, and by eliminating pollution from small gasoline engines, the City will be helping in the fight against this terrible disease.“

Today’s action followed 2016’s successful AGZA Certified Green Zone City campaign.  Eliminating toxic, carcinogenic, and particulate emissions from gas combustion not only prevents the creation of smog and greenhouse gasses, but improves the health and safety of the grounds maintenance crew who use these machines for hours every day.

“The Pasadena Group of the Sierra Club commends the City of South Pasadena for using only emission-free electric equipment to maintain its golf course and median strips, the first city in the nation to do so,” said Don Bremner with the Sierra Club.  “Emissions from gasoline-powered lawn and landscape maintenance equipment are a significant source of nitrogen oxide and other pollutants that are precursors to ozone formation in the Los Angeles air basin.  Reducing these emissions is an important step in addressing the region’s serious air pollution.  Becoming the first AGZA Green Zone Golf Course underscores the significance of this achievement.”

“By certifying the nation’s first AGZA Green Zone® Golf Course, Arroyo Seco and the City of South Pasadena are taking bold steps to demonstrate that you can have clean quiet golf greens without the noise, health, and environmental damage inherent with gasoline-powered equipment,” said Dan Mabe, Founder American Green Zone Alliance.  “Golf is a sport and a lifestyle that prides itself on pristine landscaping and quiet beauty, which until now have been marred by small gas engines — the least efficient, dirtiest, and most polluting mechanisms around.”