We have fantastic news. At last night's Santa Monica Rec & Parks' Field Sports Advisory Committee (FSAC) meeting, our community achieved a major victory in the fight to protect our green spaces.

Thanks to your advocacy, the committee voted to pass a motion recommending a "preference for natural grass in all new fields subject to playability and feasibility impact." 

This is an incredible result. This recommendation is a powerful endorsement of a pro-player safety, pro-environment policy, and it's particularly meaningful coming from a committee that deeply understands the city's field access needs. This victory belongs to every single one of you who sent an email, attended the meeting, and raised your voice. The committee heard us loud and clear.

🚀 What This Means & Our Next, Critical Move
We need to give full credit to the Field Sports Advisory Committee for listening to the community. While this is an advisory recommendation, not a binding decision, it is a crucial and influential first step.

The key phrase is "subject to playability and feasibility." This gives us our next clear goal: to show the city that highly playable, durable natural grass is absolutely feasible with modern, regenerative, and organic soil management practices. This is an opportunity for Santa Monica to lead, not by installing plastic, but by investing in innovative, healthy soil solutions that other communities have used with great success.

Their recommendation will now go to the full Recreation & Parks Commission for its decision-making on September 25.  We need to urge them to adopt this preference and commit to making it a reality.

📣 Action 1: Tell the City to Make Natural Grass a Priority
The most important thing you can do today is submit an official comment on the Draft Parks and Recreation Vision Plan. It only takes two minutes.

Step 1: Click here to open the official feedback form.

Step 2: For detailed talking points and inspiration, please see our Action Guide.

We're asking everyone to urge the Recreation & Parks Commission to not only adopt the FSAC's preference for grass but to also urge the City commit to exploring and investing in the innovative, organic soil management techniques that will guarantee our natural fields are both durable and safe.

The Santa Monica City Council will consider approval of the draft Parks and Recreation Vision Plan on October 28.  

✍️ Action 2: Join the Campaign to Stay in the Loop

To win this larger fight, we need to keep you in the loop about key meetings and updates. If you haven't already, please fill out our community survey. It's the best way to ensure you're on our list for the next phase of this campaign.

Click here to fill out the survey and stay in the loop.

Yesterday was proof that when we speak up, we can win. Let's use this momentum to secure a lasting victory.