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Transit & Trails
Photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt.
She would have been 104. Celebrate by listening to this by Marian McPartland. Or reading Silent Spring. Or by going outside...
Welcome!
- The Bay Area Open Space Council provides avision for the region, serves as a unified voice for its members and the land conservation community, and serves as a central hub by convening people, connecting ideas and resources, and disseminating information. This is our blog.
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May 2011
05/27/2011
05/26/2011
In the News!
The Conservation Lands Network made local news because of a deal in the works in Solano County. The Solano Land Trust received a significant donation from the State Coastal Conservancy towards the purchase of Rockville Trails Estates property, which sits right next to the 800,000-acre Blue Ridge-Berryessa Natural Area. The Conservation Lands Network was used to identifiy the property's biodiversity values.
Photo courtesy of Solano Land Trust
Read more about it in the Times-Herald and on the Solano Land Trust's website.
05/25/2011
Lost and Found
Thanks to all who brought their own water bottles and coffee mugs to the Open Space Conference on May 12! We don't know how much waste you prevented from going in the landfill, but we're sure it's a bunch.
These four mugs came home with us instead of their rightful owners. If you belong to one of these send Annie an email at annie [at] openspacecouncil [dot] org and we'll reconnect you two.
05/24/2011
A mini-round up about the State Parks planned closures
There is a lot being said about the pending closures of 70 State Parks on July 1, 2012, including the many here in the Bay Area. Ruth Colman, the Director of State Parks, was on KQED's Forum yesterday, a recording of which can be heard here:
An article ran in the SF Chronicle on May 19 which included a Q&A with State Parks Deputy Director Roy Stearns. Here is an editorial in the LA Times about how hard it is to actually close a park. Lastly here is an article in the LA Times, the comments perhaps being more interesting than the article itself.
And you can add your voice to the conversation at the State Parks Foundation website. Click here to make your opinion heard.
Austin Creek State Recreation Area, one of the parks slated to close in 2012.
05/23/2011
What did you do for International Day for Biological Diversity?
It's the year of Forests. Read all about it in the booklet. And tell us in the comments about how you celebrated...
05/20/2011
05/19/2011
Another Reason to Love the Bay Area
The Bay Area has many unique qualities.
One that we are particularly fond of here at the Open Space Council is collaboration. An example is how the thousands of people around the region who care deeply about this place and the plants and animals (bipedal and otherwise) that live here have worked together over the years in partnerships. These folks - including environmentalists, biologists, conservationalists, ranchers, farmers, restaurantuers, etc - work tirelessly to protect those green hills from concrete, save the butterflies, and build the trails.
Another example is the group of companies, organizations and agencies are partnering on a unique event on June 18: the second annual Triple Threat. It isn't your typical collaboration, but rather a group who believe in the value of interconnectedness and the many unique qualities of the Bay Area. They are contributing their expertise, their time, the goods and services, and much more. And for all of that we are very grateful.
Our heartfelt thanks goes to the current partners of the 2011 Triple Threat:
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What is the Triple Threat, you ask? It's 3 Bay Area peaks on 2 wheels in 1 day with trains and ferries carrying the riders between the peaks. Partnerships and sponsorship opportunities are still available. Contact Annie Burke at annie [at] openspacecouncil [dot] org for more information and to sign up.
05/18/2011
The Conference! Photos, links and more.
We held the Open Space Conference last week as we have every spring for 12 years but for some reason it's feeling more like winter here in the Bay Area. Luckily the sun shone down on the 330+ people who filled the Golden Gate Club on May 12 to see friends, listen to experts in topics ranging from climate change to health care to young people, and get reenergized to do the work we do.
Did you attend? We want your decision to attend the Open Space Conference to be the best decision you've ever made (or something close to that). Tell us what you loved and how we can improve. Consider taking 5 minutes to complete our survey.
Do you want to see the speakers' presentations? Most of them are up on our website. Come by and check them out.
This conference is the work of many hands, hearts and brains and as such there are many people to thank. Thanks to the speakers for sharing their time and expertise. Thanks to the exhibitors for sharing their products, services, and creativity. Thanks to the volunteers, Back to Earth for the delicious food, The Presidio Trust for the gorgeous space, Craig Anderson and Duncan for the fun music, Rob Brodman for capturing the day, Ellen Toomey for her design talents, and Trumer Brauerei for their tasty beer.
And a huge, loud, and enthusiastic THANK YOU to this year's sponsors:
Ecosystem Sponsor
Watershed Sponsors
Park Sponsors
Thanks for their support of our work and the conference:
