Open Space Council: Blog

Promote what works and our 'nifty way to plan a trip'

Thanks to Derrick Crandall of the American Recreation Coalition, the Council's Transit and Trails has been nominated as a "What Works" for "conservation, recreation and reconnecting people to the outdoors."  This is part of the Obama Administration's efforts to facilitate a national dialogue about conservation in America to learn about some of the smart, creative ways communities are conserving outdoor spaces.  Learn more about America's Great Outdoors and their work including several upcoming Listening Sessions.

Will you help us promote this idea?  Sign up - it's quick and easy and painless - and Promote the idea.  Comments are great too!

 

Members Social Media Bonanza!

The members of the Open Space Council gather for our annual conference and partner with each other on a wide range of projects.  And they're also connected to each other online through Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and blogs.

Would you like to join them online?

We have a list over on the left of your screen with our members' blogs.  Check out who we're following on Twitter.  But to make it so irresistably easy for you here they are:

Blogs

• Alameda Co Resource Conservation District
• City of Brisbane
• LandPaths
• The Nature Conservancy
• Trust for Public Land - City Parks

Twitter

• Bay Area Ridge Trail
• CA State Parks
• CA State Parks Foundation
• East Bay Regional Park District
• Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
• LandPaths
• Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
• National Park Service
• The Nature Conservancy
• Save the Redwoods League
• Trust for Public Land

Facebook

• Bay Area Ridge Trail Council
• California Rangeland Trust
• California State Parks Foundation
• City of San Jose
• City of Walnut Creek
• Conservation Corps North Bay
• County of Sonoma
• East Bay Regional Park District
• Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
• Land Trust of Santa Cruz County
• LandPaths
• Livermore Area Recreation and Park District
• Marin Agricultural Land Trust
• Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
• Peninsula Open Space Trust
• Pepperwood Preserve
• Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
• Save Mount Diablo
• Save the Redwoods League
• Sempervirens Fund
• Sonoma Ecology Center
• Sonoma Land Trust
• The Nature Conservancy
• Trust for Public Land
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Volunteers for Outdoor California

 

Are we missing anyone?  Please let us know in the comments or sending an email to annie at openspacecouncil dot org.

***

NEW!  Thanks for sharing these new links:

Bay Area Early Detection Network on Facebook

Walnut Creek Open Space on Facebook

Sonoma Land Trust on Twitter

Members Harvest Meeting on September 16

It is almost time for our annual Harvest Meeting where we celebrate the unique partnership between Open Space Council and the Bay Area Program of the State Coastal Conservancy.  Together, we have been able to achieve so much and you are the beneficiaries.  At the meeting you will see some cool technology applications, hear about the Council's work that connects young people to the outdoors and get a peak at what's in the works for 2011.  Amy Hutzel, Manager of the Bay Area Program of the State Coastal Conservancy, will highlight key projects they have funded and share what opportunities lay ahead.

 

Thursday, September 16
10am-1pm
Log Cabin in the Presidio

 

Also, we will acknowledge and honor Neal Fishman and Maxene Spellman for their years of leadership and service.  Neal and Maxene will be retiring from the State Coastal Conservancy this fall.  Join us as we highlight the work they've done over the years and wish them luck in their next adventures.


Click here to register

PS: Our last meeting was in July and we talked about collaboration.  Photos can be seen here.

Opportunity: Seminar at Rally with 3 Council members

Are you going to the Land Trust Alliance's Rally this year?  Then don’t miss this Rally preconference seminar with three Open Space Council members presenting.

 

Sandra Tassel, author of The Conservation Program Handbook,  published by Island Press, will be leading an all-day, preconference seminar, “From Successful Ballot Measure to Conservation Results: Government and Land Trusts Working Together”. It promises to be a great opportunity for anyone interested in effective local government land protection to learn from an instructor team that knows what works. (See SEM-12 in the Rally catalogue)

In addition to Tassel, the seminar will feature three members of the Open Space Council:

• The Trust for Public Land’s director of Conservation Finance, Will Abberger, to advise participants on how to design successful ballot measures
• The Assistant General Manager of the award-winning Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, Maria Cipriani, to share details of the District’s work and policies
• The Sonoma Land Trust’s Acquisition Director, Amy Chestnut, who designed and implemented one of the country’s most complex conservation transactions, to explain the role of partnerships.

This seminar will be highly interactive, with exercises that allow participants to use the information provided and work with their colleagues. Time will be set aside for brainstorming pertinent issues raised by participants on topics related to starting new land acquisition programs, partnerships between local governments and nonprofits, and designing finance referenda.

Learn more on LTA's website for Rally.

Opportunity: Social Venture Network Fall Invitational

At our membership meeting last month, Deborah Schoenbaum talked about an upcoming conference being put on by Social Venture Network.  For those who weren't there - and even for those that were - we want to share the details about and link to this event again.  

SVN’s Fall Invitational will bring together a vibrant community of social entrepreneurs to explore new ways to create a just economy, strengthen our collective impact and forge connections to convert passion into action.  Van Jones is one of the featured speakers.  The Invitational will be held October 21 - 24, 2010 in Long Branch, New Jersey and more information can be found here.

Franklin Canyon Saved!

In an anxiety-fraught deal that came down to the final hours, the Muir Heritage Land Trust, a member of the Open Space Council, secured $3.3 million to buy Franklin Canyon from overseas investors who had hoped to build a development called Green Park, consisting of 1,000 homes, hotels and a shopping center. More than 3,000 oak trees were to be removed.

 

Read more about how it happened here.  And read more about the work that Muir Heritage Land Trust does on their website, including the press about Franklin Canyon over the years.

* Map courtesy of the Muir Heritage Land Trust