Pollen Perseverance

In the pursuit of everyday happiness, Eugene residents face terrible pollen pollution alongside a common enemy — climate change.

Swells of gentle winds wash over the University of Oregon turf fields in Eugene, Oregon. Sunlight bleeds over one of the soccer fields, turning the line of flag posts into pillars of shadows. The smell of plastic rises from the warm artificial turf and mixes with the sweet smell of Spring. 

The field is surrounded by trees and small bushes, chosen for their diverse landscaping aesthetic. Two lines of tall Arborvitae shrubs separate the field from the tennis courts and a side courtyard to the newly developed Hayward Field. Pine and cedar line the sidewalk with lavender bushes and ornamental plants sprouting in between them. Fluffy, flower-filled rhododendrons grow in abundance on the other side of Agate;  their pink hues can be seen from the field. 

Sierra Raha, 21, sits on a bench by the sideline of the softball field. She tightens the laces of her cleats and loops a UO visor through her high ponytail. After 3 years as an outfielder for the club softball team, Sierra knows that good shoes and eye protection make for a better game. 

Sierra joins her team huddled around their coaches and listens to the plan for practice. But her focus is elsewhere, because the surrounding of masterful landscaping acts like a cage of pollen producers. Siera’s allergies are going crazy.  After only a few minutes of practice, she returns to the sideline to pull out her inhaler and some tissues. 

Dry eyes and a runny nose nag at her throughout the rest of practice. She plans out the rest of her week to account for a heavier head and severe congestion. Her allergies burden her all day, and especially during softball practice. 

“Doing anything is harder, because I’m exhausted from my body fighting stupid pollen,” says Sierra.

Spring can be an unbearable season for Eugene residents with pollen allergies. Eugene sits in the center of tall hills and mountain ranges at the southern side of the Willamette Valley – a soup bowl full of pollen-producing plants. The hills and mountains surrounding the city trap tree and grass pollen in air inversions – stagnant pockets of air trapped beneath a layer of warm atmosphere – within the valley. 

Without fail, Eugene continues to be a high-ranking city for poor air quality and high pollen counts. 

Air inversions keep pollen close to the ground and make it difficult for the 11% of Eugene residents with asthma, according to Clean Air Oregon. For example, it makes it hard for Sierra to enjoy the sport she’s played for 15 years. 

Current climate trends amplify Eugene’s air inversions and bountiful pollen . leading  to more warm and dry days, which encourages greater plant growth and pollen in the air. 

If there could ever be a combo of things to trigger allergies, this is it. As a result, pollen pollution forces Eugene residents to adapt to their allergies and the symptoms that come with it. 

For Sierra, this means pushing through softball practice while struggling to breathe.

In spite of Oregon’s history of pollen, only one pollen data collector exists in Eugene.

Dr. Kraig Jacobson, an allergy and immunology specialist, and his staff at the Oregon Allergy Associates (OAA) spearhead the effort to collect pollen counts for the city. His team has collected over 20 years of pollen data.

Poaceae, or the flowering grasses planted around the valley, spiked in the most recent years to an intolerable range of pollen since the grass burning bans back in 2010, according to OAA pollen count data. Despite Oregon laws working to keep pollen pollution down, climate change continues to push pollen counts up.   

As the grass pollen levels reach higher peaks each season, it forces Sierra away from her beloved sport. 

The OAA’s data also shows that tree pollen spiked to unbearable ranges every year since 2005. With every pollen season, Eugene residents come across a set of days that turn the best weather outside into a nightmare of respiratory issues.

The growing number of days that favor pollen dispersion are to thank for these high pollen counts over the years. Lack of winds maintain the stagnant air inversions, which keeps pollen in the breathable air longer. 

“Weather is a huge factor,” said Jacobson. It can mean the difference of whether a count is super high or barely enough to land on the collecting slide. 

Sunny weather with winds and low humidity increases the quantity of and distance pollen can travel throughout the area, said Judy Moran, a registered nurse and pollen counter for the Oregon Allergy Associates office. On the other hand, rain can take a lot of the pollen out of the air and make it seem like spring has yet to come. 

After the rain hits, pollen doesn’t consume Sierra when she goes out for her weekly practices and workouts. It makes standing outside on the field enjoyable. 

More sunny and dry days make it easier for plants to disperse the pollen they produce, which makes OAA’s pollen counts go up. High pollen counts can lead to strong symptoms of allergy sickness and put Eugene residents out of commission, which makes it more difficult to carry out tasks that require outside interaction. It can also disrupt sleep, which can lower productivity at school and work, said Moran. 

“It’s beyond frustrating,” said Sierra. She describes days when she doesn’t go to class because of her symptoms. 

“Just the fact that something as simple as pollen, and the weather affecting how we are doing, is not fun,” said Sierra. 

A 2001 article from the Daily Emerald, the UO’s student newspaper, announced that Eugene ranked first as the worst place for people with pollen. Nearly 20 years later, local news channel KVAL-13 posts an almost identical headline warning about pollen in Eugene. 

As local media paints Eugene as one of the outliers when it comes to continuous hardships during the pollen season, other regions in the U.S. are also beginning to feel the brunt of pollen. 

A study evaluating 28 years of pollen data from stations across the North American continent outline a fate for the U.S. similar to that which Eugene is already experiencing. Increasing temperatures and climate-driven weather patterns act as “…the dominant driver of changes in pollen season length and increasing pollen concentrations,” according to Dr. William Anderegg, University of Utah researcher of ecological change due to climate shifts, and his co-authors. 

Windy days, dry spells and even thunderstorms can prolong the amount of pollen in the air and its tendency to travel to nearby locations. 

Although softball season is soon over for Sierra, she longs to get out with her past teammates to throw a ball around on the field. Meanwhile, Eugene prepares for the receival of the world’s greatest track athletes to celebrate the World Track and Field Championships in July.

Climate change gets worse and worse as the days and years go by. Pollen will soon turn into an even greater nuisance and developer of allergies and respiratory issues. 

We need to take examples from Eugene residents, like Sierra, who have been dealing with pollen pollution since the start of the century. 

People continue to live in Eugene regardless of the horrendous pollen counts says something about residents’ resiliency. People needed to learn how to live with prosperous spring and summer growing seasons. 

Oregon supported communities like Eugene by passing a statute in 2010 that decreased the number of acres burned by grass seed farmers by 20,000 acres. The planning committees for the Prefontaine Classic, a popular Eugene track meet sponsored by Nike, even lobbied for this ban, according to the Register-Guard.  

It’s also common for Oregon counties to implement temporary wood burning bans in preparation of poor air quality forecasts. Just this February, Multnomah County banned wood burning for 24 hours because of the worry for increased respiratory issues while residents are recovering from COVID-19 spikes.

Laws and bans aid in the short-term mitigation of pollen pollution, however many residents prefer to use methods that support the affected individual.

Sierra, for example, uses in-the-moment mitigation methods to handle her allergy reactions. This includes bringing extra pairs of contacts and eyedrops when her eyes get dry. Claritin, a common antihistamine used to treat pollen allergies, helps with her respiratory congestion and other symptoms. 

On top of providing local pollen data for Eugene, Dr. Jacobson and his team of allergy professionals work to support the allergic populations with multiple forms of testing, treatment and immunotherapy.

Oral or injectable forms of therapy offered by the OAA office provide an opportunity for patients to start developing a tolerance to common airborne allergens that may trigger their allergy symptoms. 

Other recommendations for long-term relief include installing HEPA purifiers – high efficiency particulate air filters – around your home and cleaning your sinuses out regularly with a saline solution aid in the ability to breath cleaner air in the spaces you control. 

It’s another perfect day in May filled with unclouded sun and gentle breezes. A nearby cottonwood releases its seeds that float on the wind with their fluffy cotton wrapping. Despite no upcoming games, the familiar feeling of practice lulls Sierra and her teammates back to the turf fields. Sierra stands at the point of a three-person triangle, tossing a softball back and forth. They talk about what to prepare for an upcoming party to celebrate their softball season. 

“I love this sport so much and I feel like this sport has given a lot back to me and my life,” says Sierra. 

Pollen collected for the day came in at a higher-than-normal range – just enough to trigger Sierra’s pollen allergies. With a continuing trend of worse pollen seasons and increasing temperatures on said good days, Sierra understands what it will take to mitigate her symptoms in order to maintain participation. 

Itchy eyes and intermittent sneezes won’t stop her from coming to play. These sunny days are what it takes to play good games and she’s willing to sacrifice her comfort to continue her sport.

“In the grand scheme of things, it’s not going to stop me from something I love and something that brings me happiness.”

Dr. Kraig Jacobson, the Oregon Allergy Associates office, and parent organization Praxis Health reserves all rights to the pollen data collected by the office and any research/interpretations made based upon said data. All graphs, evaluations and raw data cannot be used by individuals and third-party entities without the permission of Dr. Jacobson and the OAA office.

Pollen count data is collected on a 24-hour sample for that day. The office uses a Burkard pollen sampler that vacuums windborne pollen samples onto a microscope slide with an adhesive on it. The collector rolls the slide on a timer, so that each hour of the day is represented on the slide. The pollen per cubic meter is mathematically calculated Staff from the OAA identify pollen using a microscope and count the number of pollen.

Pollen levels can fluctuate depending on the weather of the day. Sunny and windy days increase the chance of having a high pollen count day during a growing season (tree, grass, weed or fungal spores). Additionally, some pollen can travel for miles within the city but is also directly impacted by the vegetation near the sampler. For more information about the pollen counts from the Oregon Allergy Associates office, please visit their website at https://www.oregonallergyassociates.com/.